TY - JOUR
T1 - Competency-Based Medical Education in Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning
AU - Roumeliotis, Michael
AU - Morrison, Hali
AU - Conroy, Leigh
AU - Becker, Nathan
AU - Logie, Natalie
AU - Grendarova, Petra
AU - Thind, Kundan
AU - McNiven, Andrea
AU - Hilts, Michelle
AU - Quirk, Sarah
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Society for Radiation Oncology
PY - 2022/5/1
Y1 - 2022/5/1
N2 - Purpose: To develop a technology-enhanced education methodology with competency-based evaluation for radiation therapy treatment planning. The education program is designed for integration in the existing framework of Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP) accredited medical physics residency programs. Methods and Materials: This education program pairs an accessible, multi-institutional infrastructure with established medical education evaluation tools to modernize treatment planning education. This program includes 3 evaluation components: (1) competency-based evaluation, (2) inter- and intramodality comparison, and (3) learner feedback. For this study, synchronous bilateral breast cancer was selected to demonstrate a complex treatment site and nonstandardized technique. Additionally, an online study was made available to a public cohort of worldwide participants of certified Medical Dosimetrists and Medical Physicists to benchmark performance. Before evaluation, learners were given a disease site-specific education session on potential clinical treatment strategies. During the assessment, learners generated treatment plans in their institutional planning system under the direct observation of an expert evaluator. Qualitative proficiency was evaluated for all learners on a 5-point scale of graduated task independence. Quantitative dosimetry was compared between the learner cohort and public cohort. A feedback session provided learners context of multi-institutional experience through multimodality and technique comparison. After study completion, learners were provided a survey that was used to gauge their perception of the education program. Results: In the public study, 34 participants submitted treatment plans. Across 3 CAMPEP-accredited residency programs, 6 learners participated in the education and evaluation program. All learners successfully completed treatment plans that met the dosimetric constraints described in the case study. All learners favorably reviewed the study either comprehensively or in specified domains. Conclusions: The competency-based education and evaluation program developed in this work has been incorporated in CAMPEP-accredited residency programs and is adaptable to other residency programs with minimal resource commitment.
AB - Purpose: To develop a technology-enhanced education methodology with competency-based evaluation for radiation therapy treatment planning. The education program is designed for integration in the existing framework of Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP) accredited medical physics residency programs. Methods and Materials: This education program pairs an accessible, multi-institutional infrastructure with established medical education evaluation tools to modernize treatment planning education. This program includes 3 evaluation components: (1) competency-based evaluation, (2) inter- and intramodality comparison, and (3) learner feedback. For this study, synchronous bilateral breast cancer was selected to demonstrate a complex treatment site and nonstandardized technique. Additionally, an online study was made available to a public cohort of worldwide participants of certified Medical Dosimetrists and Medical Physicists to benchmark performance. Before evaluation, learners were given a disease site-specific education session on potential clinical treatment strategies. During the assessment, learners generated treatment plans in their institutional planning system under the direct observation of an expert evaluator. Qualitative proficiency was evaluated for all learners on a 5-point scale of graduated task independence. Quantitative dosimetry was compared between the learner cohort and public cohort. A feedback session provided learners context of multi-institutional experience through multimodality and technique comparison. After study completion, learners were provided a survey that was used to gauge their perception of the education program. Results: In the public study, 34 participants submitted treatment plans. Across 3 CAMPEP-accredited residency programs, 6 learners participated in the education and evaluation program. All learners successfully completed treatment plans that met the dosimetric constraints described in the case study. All learners favorably reviewed the study either comprehensively or in specified domains. Conclusions: The competency-based education and evaluation program developed in this work has been incorporated in CAMPEP-accredited residency programs and is adaptable to other residency programs with minimal resource commitment.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123998218&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85123998218&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.prro.2021.12.003
DO - 10.1016/j.prro.2021.12.003
M3 - Article
C2 - 34929401
AN - SCOPUS:85123998218
SN - 1879-8500
VL - 12
SP - e232-e238
JO - Practical Radiation Oncology
JF - Practical Radiation Oncology
IS - 3
ER -