Students Welcomed at the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute

In March, 40 Duval County students and parents from First Coast High School and the AnnieRuth Foundation visited the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute to learn from our staff what kind of careers are available in healthcare, specifically related to radiation for cancer treatment. Speakers from the Institute’s physics and dosimetry departments led students on tours of various stations, including those taking place in the TrueBeam treatment room, the proton therapy treatment room and in the Cyclotron. We are thankful to Kobi Ellis from Ion Beam Applications (IBA) who led attendees through this rare opportunity to view the cyclotron vault.

Beachside High School students in the biomedical science program toured the Institute later in the month. There were 21 students in attendance. They heard from two nurses, a medical physicist and a radiation therapist about their role in caring for patients during radiation therapy. There were also two students who volunteered to do a mock patient set-up with a vac-loc bag and face mask.