Radiation therapist

Every verdict is made of the same five dimensions. Each is scored on its own, so a candidate sees where they are strong and where to work.

• Clinical skillsThe hands-on and judgement work of the role: recognising what matters, acting in the right order, and knowing when something cannot wait.
• Workflow and toolsGetting the work done in a real setting: the systems, records, equipment and handoffs the role runs on, used correctly and on time.
• Patient communicationHow the role talks with patients, families and colleagues: listening, explaining plainly, and confirming what was understood.
• Compliance and safetyThe rules that protect people: privacy, consent, infection control, reporting duties and the safety checks the role is accountable for.
• Role knowledgeKnowing the job itself: what the role is responsible for, where its scope ends, and who to bring in when it does.

Any one of these keeps a candidate from Ready Day One, whatever the rest of the score. They are published so nobody meets them for the first time in the assessment.

• Begins a fraction without the patient stating two identifiers that are checked against the record, or without confirming the treatment site and laterality against the plan, relying instead on recognition, the schedule or the chart already loaded.

  A fraction delivered to the wrong patient or the wrong side cannot be taken back, and it harms twice: the person irradiated and the person whose treatment was not given.

• Delivers a fraction when the setup does not reproduce the approved plan - a missing bolus or accessory, a shift beyond the action level, an unapproved or revised plan - or bypasses an interlock to keep treating.

  Radiotherapy has no margin for a dose delivered to the wrong volume or the wrong depth, and every interlock exists because somebody was harmed when it was not there.

• Treats a patient before the daily machine quality assurance has been completed and passed, continues after an out-of-tolerance result without the physicist clearing it, or signs off a check that was not performed.

  An uncorrected output error is delivered identically to every patient treated that day, and nobody finds out from the patients until it is far too late.

• Conceals a delivery error, quietly corrects the record, or agrees with a colleague to leave a wrong-site, wrong-patient or wrong-dose fraction unreported.

  A misadministration changes what the rest of the course must be, is legally reportable, and concealing it removes the only chance to protect the patient and everyone treated after them.

Knowing where the role stops is part of the standard. Going past it is not extra credit.

• A spoken assessment

  An examiner talks the candidate through realistic cases from this role, and follows up the way a senior colleague would.

• Five dimensions

  Each answer is read against the expectations above and rated on the same four-level scale.

• The 70 bar

  Every scorecard shows the score against 70, overall and for each dimension, with the reason for the verdict.

• Safety first

  Crossing one of the safety red lines holds a pass back, however strong the rest was.

Drawn from the certification frameworks and practice standards below, and reviewed by clinicians. Version 1, last reviewed September 19, 2026.

• Radiation Therapy Examination Content Specifications, implementation date 1 January 2022American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, 2021
• Radiation Therapy Examination Content Specifications, implementation date 1 February 2027American Registry of Radiologic Technologists, 2026
• ASRT Practice Standards for Medical Imaging and Radiation TherapyAmerican Society of Radiologic Technologists, 2025
• 10 CFR Part 35, Medical Use of Byproduct Material, including medical event reportingUS Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2026

Cited as sources. Not an endorsement by the organizations named.