Growing up in small-town Pittsburg, Kansas, Jessica Clements wanted to be helpful.
In elementary and middle school, she was a Girl Scout and part of a mentorship group. As a high school student, she was active in many clubs, including student government where she was elected class president.
Her desire to help makes Jessica, who holds a master’s degree in nuclear engineering sciences, a natural ABR volunteer.
“My interest in leadership and volunteering started in elementary school, being involved in activities,” Jessica said. “It’s just in my DNA.”

Jessica is a medical physicist and radiation safety officer at the University of Vermont Medical Center. She earned a bachelor’s in physics from Pittsburg State University in 2002 and a master’s from the University of Florida in 2005. Jessica was certified by the ABR in diagnostic medical physics in 2008 and nuclear medical physics in 2011.
She has been an ABR volunteer for 14 years, starting off by writing questions for the computer-based Medical Physics Part 2 Exam.
“An opportunity came up and it seemed like a great way to give back to the profession and help keep exam content relevant and appropriate for candidates,” Jessica said.
In 2014, she was invited by former ABR Board of Governors member Anthony Seibert, PhD, to join the Diagnostic Medical Physics Oral Exam Committee. She finished her run on that committee as chair in 2023. She remains part of the Nuclear Medical Physics Oral Exam Committee.
She has been an oral examiner for the former in-person and current remote administrations. The goal remains the same: Engage with candidates to determine their knowledge on the appropriate subject matter.
“I think remote exams are amazing for candidates,” Jessica said. “What a game changer. But I still think of (oral exams) as a conversation.”
Jessica has been part of four ABR committees along with numerous others in medical physics associations and societies. She’s a fellow of the American College of Radiology and American Association of Physicists in Medicine.
She said she once took a personality quiz that matched her with Amy Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, from the former NBC show “Parks and Recreation.” Knope was the deputy director of the parks and recreation department and eventually a council member for the fictional city of Pawnee, Indiana. Knope enjoyed serving on committees with the goal of improving people’s lives.
“I can identify with her character,” she said. “I know it sounds super nerdy, but I think that’s important work. It has a high impact.”
Like Knope, Jessica enjoys living and working in a small community. She and her husband have known each other since preschool in rural Kansas and have found Burlington, Vermont, to be a good substitute for home. They moved there from Southern California in July 2022.
“The University of Vermont is unique because it’s like living in a community where I grew up, but there’s a level one trauma center, academic medical center, and it’s the main hospital for the state,” she said. “It’s like having your cake and eating it, too, by living in a small town with a big hospital.”
Another reason she came to the University of Vermont Medical Center was to start a medical physics residency program. Again, she wants to help.
“It’s preservation of the profession, making sure we have enough people,” Jessica said. “There’s a shortage in every single role in pretty much every industry and keeping it alive is really important.”
Patrick Byrne, PhD, served as chair of the Nuclear Medical Physics Oral Exam Committee with Jessica. He said her contributions and eagerness to help were obvious.
“Jessica is an all-around great addition to any committee,” Dr. Byrne said. “Working with her was simply effortless, as she not only quickly and thoroughly understood the work that needed to be done, but also that she’s the literal definition of a team player.”
After more than a decade of working with the ABR, Jessica remains enthusiastic about her duties. She encourages all diplomates to consider volunteering to assist their professions and improve patient safety.
“Anybody who’s on the fence should check it out and see what they have to contribute and gain from the experience,” she said. “I give it a five-star recommendation.”