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Learning radiotherapy: the state of the art
Gerard M Walls1,2, Gerard G Hanna3,4, James J McAleer5,6
1Cancer Centre Belfast City Hospital, Belfast Health & Social Care Trust, Belfast, Northern Ireland. g.walls@qub.ac.uk.
BMC Medical Education
|May 13, 2020
Summary
Medical education lags behind radiotherapy advancements, leading to varied trainee experiences. Improving radiation oncology training requires addressing departmental factors and standardizing curricula for better learning outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Radiation Oncology Training
- Postgraduate Medical Education
Background:
- Recent advancements in radiotherapy technology and postgraduate medical training.
- Radiation Oncology is a craft specialty utilizing an apprenticeship model.
- Trainees acquire competencies through diverse learning methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing evidence on how medical trainees learn radiotherapy.
- To identify gaps and variations in current radiotherapy training practices.
Main Methods:
- Systematic search of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases (1999-2018).
- Inclusion of studies on trainee/trainer experiences in radiotherapy learning.
- Exclusion of studies on medical oncology, workforce, and non-medical staff.
Main Results:
- 146 publications synthesized, revealing five key themes.
- Most studies focused on trainee doctors' perspectives.
- Significant variation in training experiences across institutions, countries, and training levels.
Conclusions:
- Medical education has not matched radiotherapy's rapid evolution.
- Training quality is influenced by interpersonal dynamics, departmental organization, and national curricula.
- Research on modern radiotherapy learning is emerging but historically uncoordinated.
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