Assessment of the Impact of an Interprofessional Curriculum on Radiation Therapy Knowledge in Radiation Oncology Nursing Staff

Abstract

Prior educational initiatives for radiation oncology nursing staff have been shown to improve self-reported confidence in managing common clinical scenarios. We sought to use an objective knowledge assessment to quantify the impact of an interprofessional curriculum on radiation therapy knowledge among radiation oncology nursing staff. We also sought to determine barriers preventing the successful implementation of this curriculum. Nursing staff from a single radiation oncology department participated in this study. A curriculum of nine 30-minute lectures was designed and administered to nurses twice monthly. Lectures were devised by radiation oncology residents and faculty as well as radiation therapists, medical physicists, and an expert in quality improvement methodology. Lecture topics included the management of commonly treated cancers, the basics of radiation planning and delivery, and special cases in radiation therapy. A standardized 18-item multiple choice question knowledge assessment was completed by participants pre- and post-curriculum. The objective knowledge assessment was adapted from a previously validated tool used to assess medical student knowledge of radiation oncology as well as prior nursing licensing exam questions. Pre- and post-curriculum total scores were compared using a paired sample t-test. Nurses received continuing education credits for participation. A total of 10 nursing staff participated. The interval between the pre- and post-curriculum assessments was 5.5 months. Post-test data was not available for a nurse who left the department mid-curriculum, and pre-test data was not available for 2 nurses (1 new hiree, 1 did not complete), leaving 7 nurses to be included in the analysis (response rate 70.0%). The majority of nurses (85.7%) attended at least 4 of 9 lectures. Mean scores on the knowledge assessment were 71.4% ± 11.3% pre-curriculum and 80.2% ± 9.0% post-curriculum (p=0.07). When the participant who attended less than 4 lectures was excluded from analysis, mean scores were 71.3% ± 12.4% pre-curriculum and 82.4% ± 7.4% post-curriculum (p=0.03). When total scores were broken into subdomains, mean scores pre- and post-curriculum were as follows: “Commonly treated cancers” 72.8% vs. 76.2%, “Radiation planning and delivery” 78.5% vs. 83.3%, and “Special cases in radiation therapy” 61.9% vs. 81.0%. This study suggests a formalized interprofessional education curriculum may objectively improve knowledge of radiation therapy among radiation oncology nursing staff. However, difficulties with attendance and typical staff turnover may serve as barriers to successful implementation. Future collaboration with other institutions to confirm the effectiveness of this approach and appreciation of barriers impacting successful uptake of nursing educational initiatives are warranted.