Radiate & Educate: Empowering Future Physicians through an International Radiation Oncology Student Newsletter

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Radiation Oncology
• Academic Publishing

Background:

• Radiation oncology (RO) is often overlooked by medical students due to limited curriculum exposure.
• Initiatives to increase medical student engagement in RO are crucial for future workforce development.
• The Applied Radiation Oncology (ARO) journal hosts a novel student-led newsletter, RadOnc Student Scan.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the inception, progress, and future goals of the RadOnc Student Scan newsletter.
• To evaluate the newsletter's impact on medical student education and engagement in radiation oncology.
• To highlight the creation of publishing and networking opportunities for student editors.

Main Methods:

• A quarterly newsletter, RadOnc Student Scan, was created and managed by medical student editors.
• Content included RO reviews, faculty/resident interviews, article summaries, and career resources.
• Distribution via the ARO website, social media (X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram), and email subscriptions.

Main Results:

• Over 1.5 years, 7 issues were published by a team of 13 medical students across 7 institutions.
• Newsletter content generated significant social media viewership (e.g., average 1,296 on X, 591 on Facebook).
• 33 unique publishing opportunities were created for student editors, with an average of six clicks per emailed publication.

Conclusions:

• The RadOnc Student Scan newsletter effectively increases medical student exposure to radiation oncology.
• The initiative provides valuable publishing and networking experience for student editors.
• Future plans include expanding student recruitment and analyzing readership through QR codes.