At UC San Diego we believe that the role of the medical physicist is changing. One part of that change will include having medical physicists develop independent professional relationships with patients. An integral component of our residency program is to train residents to be effective communicators in the clinical environment. This is achieved through didactic learning and hands-on experience which includes Simulated Patient interactions and supervised interactions with real patients.

We have recently shown that patients who experience professional interactions with trained medical physicists are significantly less anxious and more satisfied overall with their care. This means that physicist-patient interactions have a measurable, positive impact on patient care.

We have recently shown that patients who experience professional interactions with trained medical physicists are significantly less anxious and more satisfied overall with their care. This means that physicist-patient interactions have a measurable, positive impact on patient care.