Medical Physicists are highly trained healthcare professionals who apply physics skills and training to medicine and health care. Most medical physicists in Canada work in radiotherapy or diagnostic imaging departments in hospitals and cancer clinics. Medical physicists work in radiation therapy, both through the use of external beams and brachytherapy in order to provide treatment for different cancers. They are responsible for ensuring cancer radiation treatments are provided in an optimal manner that treats the disease while sparing healthy tissue.

Imaging Physicists work in diagnostic imaging departments working with imaging systems including x-ray CT, ultrasound, PET, SPECT and MRI. They are responsible for ensuring that diagnostic imaging equipment is performing to specification and that imaging procedures produce high-quality images while maintaining patient safety. Many Imaging Physicists also work in radiation safety ensuring the safe use of radioactive materials and x-rays needed for these procedures.

Being in either profession requires both a strong background in physics and an understanding of human anatomy and physiology, as well as a keen technical knowledge. More information on the profession can be found at the website of the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP).

Medical Physicists involved in radiation treatment in Canada must be professionally accredited. Proven competence in Medical Physics is generally established through the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM). In some Canadian jurisdictions, Imaging Physicists must also be professionally accredited by the CCPM.