Dashboard – Physics Zone

About Me:

I currently live in Glasgow, but I’ve lived all over Scotland – growing up in the highlands and moved to different cities for university and jobs! I enjoy going abroad when possible, and going out for food
My pronouns are:

he/him
My Work:

I work as a Trainee Medical Physicist in Radiotherapy, which involves planning where radiation dose is delivered to inside patients from CT scans (to see inside their body) – aiming to kill the cancer but not damage any healthy organs, like your heart!

I also test the machines which deliver radiation, to ensure they’re safe to treat patients and they are operating as we would expect.
My Typical Day:

A typical day involved getting up at 7:30 to have something to eat before work and waking myself up! I get into work for around 8:30, answer some emails and attend a few meetings. I typically create a patient treatment plan in the morning, then do some work on the treatment machines in the afternoon. I usually finish around 4:30, sometimes staying late to get on a machine when no patients are coming in for treatment.
What I'd do with the prize money:

I would use the £500 to try set up a mentoring network between high school students interested in a career in STEM, with those working/studying in STEM, allowing regular meetings and discussions to make people more aware of the many careers they can be involved in.

Education:

I went to high school in Kinlochleven in the highlands, studying a range of highers from business management to physics. I then progressed on to university at Heriot-Watt in Edinburgh, where I studied BSc (Hons) Mathematical Physics for 4 years. I assumed I’d work in finance/data analysis at the end of my degree, but after an internship I didn’t enjoy the work, and ended up finding about Medical Physics! I then started my graduate job in the September after finishing my degree, and I began an MSc in Medical Physics at the University of Aberdeen.
Qualifications:

High school

6 National 5s, 7 Highers, 1 Advanced Higher + 1 Open University course

Heriot Watt University

BSc (Hons) Mathematical Physics

University of Aberdeen

MSc Medical Physics
Work History:
- General assistant in a care home throghout high school.
- Room attendant at Apex Hotels throughout university.
- Credit Risk Intern at Barclays.
- Trainee Medical Physicist at NHS Tayside after graduating.
Employer:

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Thomas Rowe