Radiation therapist

The radiation therapist is a professional who manages the details of the radiation process. The therapist works closely with the radiation oncologist. After the radiation oncologist has consulted with the patient and a decision has been reached that the application of radiation will benefit the patient, it then becomes the radiation therapist's responsibility to ensure that the patient receives the prescribed radiation dose to the designated site by the approved method.

In particular the radiation therapist is responsible for 3 phases of the radiation process:

1. SIMULATION
   1. measuring the patient
   2. taking the imaging studies of the targetted area
   3. acquiring and recording all parameters needed to describe the treatment accurately - positioning, supports, pillows, distances, thicknesses
2. PLANNING
   1. using the planning computers to generate a plan of radiation delivery that meets the radiation prescription stated by the oncologist
   2. checking the accuracy of all calculations
   3. transferring the parameters of the radiation plan to the linac
3. TREATMENT
   1. reproducing the patient positioning and plan parameters each day for the course of treatment
   2. undertaking quality assurance procedures to ensure that the target area is being hit with an accuracy of less than 3-5mm each day

In some countries, like the USA, the process of producing the final plan rests with a group of specialised radiation therapists called dosimetrists, with the group implementing that plan on patients are called therapists. Other countries like Australia, NZ, England and South Africa, have a single group trained in the entire spectrum. Optimally, those who plan need to understand the difficulties of implementation, and those who implement plans need to understand the nuances and changing methods of planning. Only in this way will patients gain the integrated benefits from the two processes.