LINAC QA
Workflows
— clinical

Clinical · LewisGale Hospital · Jun–Aug 2026. Shadowing the head Medical Physicist — LINAC quality assurance, patient charting protocols, and bolus fabrication. Physics directly applied to patient care.

Site
LewisGale Hospital · Roanoke, VA
Role
Medical Physics Shadowing
Work
LINAC QA · Charting · Bolus fab
Mentor
Head Medical Physicist
Hero image — LINAC / QA checklist photo

Overview

Medical physics sits at the boundary between physics calibration and clinical workflow. This rotation followed the daily QA path for a linear accelerator, the chart checks that gate treatment, and the hands-on fabrication of bolus for surface dose shaping.

Inline image — daily QA sheet / tolerance table

LINAC QA

Morning QA covers output constancy, symmetry, and interlock checks. Each measurement has a tolerance and an action level — the discipline is in doing the same small checks the same way every day and knowing when a drift needs physics review.

Blocks

01 — Daily QA

Output, symmetry, laser, and interlocks — logged and trended.

02 — Monthly

Deeper constancy and mechanical checks; comparison to baseline.

03 — Chart checks

Prescription, plan, and documentation review before treatment.

04 — Bolus

Molded for surface coverage; thickness and fit verified.

Charting & bolus

Patient charting is a second set of eyes: prescription, imaging, and plan agreement, plus documentation that the record supports what the machine will do. Bolus work is tactile — heating, molding, and trimming for an air-gap-free fit that holds through setup.

Images