An Innovative Learning Tool for Radiation Therapy Treatment Plan Evaluation: Implementation and Evaluation.

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Radiation Oncology
• Medical Education

Background:

• Gaps exist in current learning methods for radiation oncology and medical physics residents regarding treatment plan evaluation.
• Traditional learning approaches may not adequately prepare residents for complex clinical scenarios in radiation therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, develop, and evaluate an interactive simulation-based learning tool.
• The tool aims to address identified learning gaps in treatment plan evaluation for radiation oncology and medical physics residents.

Main Methods:

• A needs assessment guided the design and case selection for the learning tool.
• A curated database of 70 cases with clinically unacceptable treatment plans was created using a web-based DICOM-RT viewer.
• An interactive module with immediate feedback was developed and pilot-tested with residents.

Main Results:

• The case bank includes diverse clinical sites, difficulty levels, and classified errors.
• Residents positively evaluated the tool's design, content, and perceived educational impact.
• The interactive nature of the tool was found to provide greater educational value than existing methods.

Conclusions:

• A high-fidelity simulation platform for treatment plan evaluation was successfully created.
• Pilot testing indicated the tool benefits resident learning and competency attainment.
• Future work will focus on external validation and expanding the learning tool's reach.