Author: Michael J. Price, Adam C. Riegel 👨🔬
Affiliation: Columbia University Irving Medical Center 🌍
Purpose: We present a robust and scalable model to quantify the diverse responsibilities of therapeutic medical physicists (tMPs) and assess individual and team productivity comprehensively.
Methods: A unitless metric, the Physics Effort Unit (PEU), was developed to measure tMP work across six categories: clinical, educational, research, development, professional, and administrative. Clinical effort was subdivided into procedural and non-procedural tasks, with PEU values assigned based on time and intensity. Research was quantified using a formula integrating funding, effort percentage, and project progress. Educational and professional efforts were calculated using coefficients tied to teaching, mentoring, and committee roles. Administrative efforts were measured based on tiered leadership roles with predefined PEU allocations. A web-based system facilitated the equitable scheduling of clinical and non-clinical assignments.
Results: The model achieved equitable distribution (± 5%) of clinical efforts, a 14% increase in team productivity over three years, and an average 6% annual bonus increase for tMPs. It provided data supporting salary adjustments, contract agreements, and the creation of three new positions by identifying resource gaps. It also improved workplace culture by recognizing previously overlooked contributions.
Conclusion: This PEU-based model effectively distributes workload, enhances productivity, and offers actionable insights for resource allocation and recognition of tMP contributions.