ArticleJournal of applied clinical medical physics2021
A system for equitable workload distribution in clinical medical physics.
Article in Journal of applied clinical medical physics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- AAPM-RSS Medical Physics Practice Guideline 9.b: SRS-SBRT.Journal of applied clinical medical physics · 2025Guideline
- Routine physics work efficacy and efficiency improvement through a shared-duty physicist-of-the-day model in a multi-hospital radiation oncology network.Journal of applied clinical medical physics · 2026Article
- A preference-integrated optimization system for medical physics shift scheduling.Journal of applied clinical medical physics · 2026Article
- A system for equitable workload distribution in clinical medical physics.Journal of applied clinical medical physics · 2021Article
- Quantitative Assessment of Full-Time Equivalent Effort for Kilovoltage-Cone Beam Computed Tomography Guided Online Adaptive Radiation Therapy for Medical Physicists.Practical radiation oncologyArticle
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundClinical medical physics duties include routine tasks, special procedures, and development projects. It can be challenging to distribute the effort equitably across all team members, especially in large clinics or systems where physicists cover multiple sites. The purpose of this work is to study an equitable workload distribution system in radiotherapy physics that addresses the complex and dynamic nature of effort assignment.
methodsWe formed a working group that defined all relevant clinical tasks and estimated the total time spent per task. Estimates used data from the oncology information system, a survey of physicists, and group consensus. We introduced a quantitative workload unit, "equivalent workday" (eWD), as a common unit for effort. The sum of all eWD values adjusted for each physicist's clinical full-time equivalent yields a "normalized total effort" (nTE) metric for each physicist, that is, the fraction of the total effort assigned to that physicist. We implemented this system in clinical operation. During a trial period of 9 months, we made adjustments to include tasks previously unaccounted for and refined the system. The workload distribution of eight physicists over 12 months was compared before and after implementation of the nTE system.
resultsPrior to implementation, differences in workload of up to 50% existed between individual physicists (nTE range of 10.0%-15.0%). During the trial period, additional categories were added to account for leave and clinical projects that had previously been assigned informally. In the 1-year period after implementation, the individual workload differences were within 5% (nTE range of 12.3%-12.8%).
conclusionWe developed a system to equitably distribute workload and demonstrated improvements in the equity of workload. A quantitative approach to workload distribution improves both transparency and accountability. While the system was motivated by the complexities within an academic medical center, it may be generally applicable for other clinics.
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