Medical Physicist

You apply the science of physics to medicine – ensuring safe, accurate radiotherapy and imaging for patients.

What this life looks like

Physics and medicine come together in some of the most powerful tools in modern healthcare. Radiation therapy uses precisely controlled beams of radiation to destroy cancer cells. Medical imaging uses X-rays, magnetic fields, and sound waves to see inside the body. Nuclear medicine uses radioactive tracers to diagnose disease. All of these technologies depend on Medical Physicists to ensure they work safely and accurately. As a Medical Physicist you calibrate and quality-assure radiotherapy machines to ensure they deliver exactly the right dose to the right location. You optimise imaging protocols to give the best diagnostic quality with the lowest radiation dose to the patient. You advise on radiation safety and protection. And you collaborate with oncologists, radiologists, and nuclear medicine physicians to design and deliver treatments. In Africa medical physics is one of the most critical shortages in the healthcare system. The continent has almost no radiotherapy capacity relative to its cancer burden – and one of the key reasons is the shortage of medical physicists to support and operate the equipment. Every medical physicist trained in Africa enables cancer treatment for thousands of patients who would otherwise have none.

What she actually does

A Medical Physicist performs commissioning and quality assurance of radiotherapy machines, designs and verifies radiotherapy treatment plans, operates and maintains medical imaging equipment, conducts radiation dosimetry measurements, advises on radiation protection for patients and staff, contributes to clinical trials involving radiation-based treatments, trains clinical staff in radiation safety, and contributes to research and development of new medical physics applications.

Where you can work

Sector	Places in Africa
Radiotherapy departments in cancer centres and teaching hospitals	University College Hospital (UCH) Ibadan (Nigeria), Groote Schuur Hospital (South Africa), Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (Ghana)
Radiology departments in hospitals	Kenyatta National Hospital (Kenya), Reddington Hospital Group (Nigeria), Netcare Group (South Africa)
Nuclear medicine departments	National Hospital Abuja (Nigeria), Tygerberg Hospital (South Africa), Ocean Road Cancer Institute (Tanzania)
Academic medical physics departments	School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences (SNAS), University of Ghana, University of the Witwatersrand, University of Ibadan
Medical equipment manufacturers and suppliers	Aspen Pharmacare (South Africa), Revital Healthcare (Kenya), Varian/Elekta regional distributors
National radiation protection authorities	Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) (South Africa), Radiation Protection Board (Kenya)

Why it matters in Africa

Africa has fewer than 400 radiotherapy machines for over 1.4 billion people – one machine per 3 to 4 million people compared to one per 250,000 in high-income countries. A shortage of medical physicists is one of the key factors limiting radiotherapy scale-up. Without medical physicists, even hospitals that have radiotherapy equipment cannot operate it safely. Training African medical physicists is not a technical nicety – it is a life-saving priority for the millions of African cancer patients who need radiotherapy.

Your pathway in

Physics and Mathematics are essential at secondary school – this is a career that begins with a strong love of Physics. You then complete a Bachelor of Science in Physics or Medical Physics, followed by a Master of Science in Medical Physics at institutions including the University of Cape Town, the University of Ghana, Makerere University, or Addis Ababa University. Clinical training in a radiotherapy or radiology department is required for registration as a clinical medical physicist. The African Medical Physics Organisation supports training and professional development across the continent.

Skills you will need

Technical: Radiation physics, dosimetry, radiotherapy treatment planning, medical imaging physics, radiation protection, calibration of medical equipment, and quality assurance protocols. Human: Exceptional precision and meticulous attention to detail – errors in radiotherapy dosimetry can harm patients – the ability to work collaboratively with oncologists and radiologists as part of clinical teams, and the communication skill to explain radiation safety concepts to clinical colleagues. Digital tools: Radiotherapy treatment planning software, dosimetry calculation tools, PACS imaging systems, radiation monitoring equipment, and medical physics quality management systems.

A woman in this field

Dr. Lorraine Gwimbi

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean medical physicist and one of the leading advocates for building medical physics capacity in sub-Saharan Africa. She has worked in clinical medical physics in Zimbabwe and regionally, and has been active in the African Medical Physics Organisation and the International Atomic Energy Agency's African medical physics capacity building programmes, working to expand the number of trained medical physicists on the continent.

Take your first step

Physics and Mathematics must be among your strongest subjects at school – there is no shortcut here. If you love Physics and want to apply it to saving lives, medical physics is one of the most direct paths to doing both. Look at the International Atomic Energy Agency website which has extensive resources on medical physics training in Africa. The African Medical Physics Organisation also has information about the profession and training opportunities. Seek out any Physics olympiad or science competition in your country – performing well in these competitions opens doors to university Physics programmes and scholarships.