The Raystation conversation: Multidisciplinary perceptions about training, leadership, and communication during...

There is very little information guiding cancer centres as they plan for costly and time consuming implementation programs for new technology. The purpose of this research was to explore the perspectives of multiple professional groups directly involved in the implementation of a next generation treatment planning system at a large academic cancer centre .

This research was a single centre, prospective study using a qualitative design and three-phased approach (interviews, questionnaire, and focus groups). The target population included radiation therapists, oncologists, and physicists that received Raystation training during initial clinical implementation.

Training was received positively by most respondents, but the lengthy lead-up time between training and clinical use led to decreased confidence with the software across all professional groups. Multidisciplinary training was not considered useful when learning tool function, but would have been helpful when practicing on clinically relevant cases. Respondents appreciated the proactive communication, as well as the multidisciplinary leadership implementation strategy. Therapist 'Super Users' emerged as a pivotal leadership and communication role in the successful implementation of Raystation.

This research provided valuable multidisciplinary insight into the implementation of Raystation. The multidisciplinary leadership team and proactive communication strategy were considered vital to the success of the implementation. Learner suggestions - such as increasing the number of Therapist 'Super Users', minimizing training-to-clinical lead time, and the creation of practice cases that are more relevant to daily clinical duties - should be incorporated into future training programs for similar new technology.