My last blog just scratched the surface of the many career options available to graduate students in the department of Medical Biophysics (or most graduate departments for that matter). So I’m going to discuss with you three more options today. Someone mentioned they’d be interested in hearing what a radiation physicist does, so I’ll try my best to answer that question.
Medical Radiation Physicist (Radiation Oncology Physics)
These advanced degree holders (typically a Ph.D. in medical physics) work in the hospital setting. Medical Radiation Physicists are involved in all aspects of radiation therapy. Their day to day responsibilities include ensuring that radiation emitting devices within the hospital are functioning properly, monitoring emissions and recommending safe dosages and treatment parameters. Radiation Physicists verify that the hospital is following established guidelines for the use of radiation. This career will expose individuals to radiation equipment design and enable them to research particular medical devices in order to make policy recommendations based on the findings.
Becoming a Radiation Physicist unfortunately requires more training. The program lasts 2 years and includes both a classroom portion (typically in the first year) and a clinical rotation portion (typically in the second year). Does this sound interesting? Here are some links to get you started.
I promised my next post to be dedicated to the end of Paper Lab Notebooks, but on Wednesday January 27th, Apple released the device that pretty much every geek has been waiting for (to either bash it or adore it). It’s called, the iPad.
Here is the illustrious Steve Jobs introducing this little device to the world:
Instead of posting my thoughts on its’ limitless potential and use-case scenarios, let me do something different ask the people in MBP: what do *YOU* think about the iPad? Where do you see the iPad fitting in with your life? What are your questions/concerns/criticisms?
I’ll collect all your questions from the comments below (feel free to leave anonymous q’s), and try and address as many as I can in Part 2 of this post (as well as my thoughts on where the iPad is going)
…. Fire away!
P.S. Let’s try and keep the comments mature and thoughtful – the internet is full of hate, I’d hate to give a voice to internet trolls!
Join MBP this May as we go see Rock of Ages, a musical that took
Broadway by storm when it opened last April. Featuring rock songs from
the 80’s, this show is making it’s Canadian debut at the Royal Alexandra
theatre in Toronto this spring.
“In 1987, on the Sunset Strip, a small town girl meets a big city rocker
and, in LA’s most famous rock club, they fall in love to the greatest
songs of the ’80s. It’s ROCK OF AGES, an arena-rock love story told
through the mind-blowing, face-melting hits of Journey, Foreigner, Styx,
Reo Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Asia, Whitesnake
and many more.”
We will be reserving tickets for the night of Thursday May 6th, 2010.
Final ticket prices will depend on the size of our group, but should be
max $40 for seats in the upper balcony. We’ll be taking advantage of
both preview and group pricing to get the cheapest deal possible, so if
you’re thinking of seeing the show, this is the time!
Jorge Cham, the author of Piled higher and Deeper (PhD) comics, is coming to speak!
His comics are hilarious and continually reflect grad school life – if you haven’t read them, then you’ve been missing out: phdcomics.com.
And I’ve heard he gives a great talk as well, so get your ticket to check it out!
He’ll be here on Monday March 8 at 3pm (at MacLeod auditorium, Med Science Building)
Tickets are limited so get them in advance – bring your $10 to either Megan in mars (4-601H) or Vanessa in PMH (10-126), or bring it to seminar and get your ticket there.
He’s also going to be available during the day, so if you’re interested in showing him around the lab/hospital, and maybe getting to be IN one of his comics, then email the organizers: phdcomics.toronto@gmail.com.
You know what pisses me off? The fact that I have no life. And you know what reminds me that I have no life? The fact that I waste my evenings on the internet, paying attention to unprofessional critics’ jackass opinions about movies. Don’t get me wrong, the internet is great; blogs podcasts and flash video have allowed for anyone to become an internet celebrity, and there is some stuff that I can’t get enough of, which wouldn’t get a proper chance through other more expensive mediums. But there is also a lot of self-important dudes on the web who obnoxiously sermonize there opinions as if everyone gives a fat shit. I think what bugs me is that they’re really long, which marks how pointless they are. The trick is to keep it concise, get all the good jokes out and leave people wanting more; less than ten minutes for a video, 30 minutes for a podcast, and 2000 words for an article. With that said here’s my opinion on some films. Is it pretentious and pointless? You be the judge!
As graduate students we have access to many systems, computers and other research devices
Last week, Amichai Shulman the chief technology officer at Imperva (software security company) released the list of most popular passwords among the 32 million passwords stolen by an unknown hacker.
The most striking result of this study? The complete lack of creativity, when it comes to protect the things we most care about. Here’s the list of the 32 most popular passwords:
Although, the article mainly addressed the growing fraud trends in standardized entry tests to professional schools (GMAT, MCAT, LSAT, GRE and so on…), I would love to see a spouse (boyfriend or girlfriend) attempt to give a public lecture or undertake a Master or PhD defense wearing a wig, mustache or lipstick (read the third paragraph of the article and you’ll know understand what I’m talking about).
By the way, I do not agree with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada ruling people complaining that requiring digital thumbprints is an invasion of privacy; yes, obtaining fingerprints it’s synonymous of criminal activity, but the goal here is to maintain the integrity of these standardized and deter cheaters.
Did you come into the lab this morning to discover the -80C freezer with your precious samples inside beeping like crazy? Or that you’ve spent all morning ransacking all of your boxes for the one sample that you need and can’t find it? Or perhaps you came in super early to set up a big experiment, everything is ready to go and then you realize that you forgot to order the reagent necessary for the first step. I’m sure we’ve all had similar days in the lab where no matter how hard you try, everything goes horribly wrong. Murphy’s Law right? My solution? I retreat to the kitchen. The one thing we as budding young researchers can do is follow a protocol. Hopefully. So, I’ve decided to share some ‘protocols’ that consistently produce positive (and edible!) results, not to mention the pleasant aromas. Plus, you’ll have something around to snack on while your gel is running, and your labmates just might be more agreeable to come in on the weekend for you if you decide to share!
Below are two recipes I’ve recently tried with great success. I try to use healthier options when possible, such as replacing oil with applesauce and using whole wheat or unbleached all purpose flour when baking. You can also try some of these healthy, yummy snacks and more first hand by dropping by the Sidney Smith lobby (click here) on Tuesday, January 19, where the Heart & Stroke Foundation – UofT club is having a bake sale. Come by for some healthy treats in support of the HSFO!
Pretty much everyone in our society gets some time off work or school throughout the year. Graduate students though fall into an interesting category for whom vacation time is not well defined. Some of us regularly work on the weekends, some come in at 6 am, some leave after 12 am and some work for years without taking time off. So, the point of my first blog is to remind you guys to take vacation and to enjoy your life!
Even though, I really believe in the necessity of going on vacation, my plan for 2009 was not to take any time off. Did it work? Well, I did great in the sprig and most of the summer, but by the end of the summer my research stopped progressing, experiments stopped working and I was exhausted. So, using the excuse that my birthday present (a wet suit for diving) was collecting dust in the closet and that I really needed to test it out, I decided to go on vacation.
Despite the hurricane season (it was already a middle of September) I had a blast in Cuba. The scuba diving was excellent, the weather was great and no thinking about my research for the entire week (that’s a mandatory rule for a real vacation). The vacation brought the end to my misfortune and the first experiment that I did when I was back in the lab worked beautifully!
Now I know that once in a while I really need to take a week off and do something fun to help me keep going with my research. I realize that for some ous it may be hard and nearly impossible to leave the lab for the entire week, but everyone can probably find a day or two that they can spent having fun. Our MBP executive team organizes great events that may help you escape from the lab: Ski trip is coming up soon, MBP Olympics and BBQ is taking place in the summer, and Geneva park retreat is happening every fall.
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