Evaluation of a Radiation Oncology Microclerkship as a Component of Medical Student Training

Abstract

Background Many US medical students gain clinical exposure to oncology specialties such as medical and/or surgical oncology throughout their core clerkships. Radiation oncology (RO), however, lacks similar representation during the standard curriculum, and few students pursue a dedicated RO elective. This substantially limits the broader understanding of the role of radiation therapy (RT) in multidisciplinary cancer care, including the role of palliative RT and survivorship care. The hypothesis of this study is that incorporating a 1-day "microclerkship" in RO as part of related clerkships will be feasible and perceived as valuable to participating students. Methods The RO clerkship director at a single institution partnered with clerkship directors in medical oncology, palliative care, and radiology so that every 3rd or 4th year medical student rotating in those specialties would spend 1 day in RO during each clerkship. Students were given educational materials to review beforehand, including a 30-minute introductory recorded presentation about general RO principles, and a slide deck and article describing how radiation therapy is relevant to patient care in primary care and other medical subspecialties. At minimum, the day in RO included shadowing one radiation oncologist (and any resident working with them) in clinic and observation of patient treatments, including attending tumor board, brachytherapy procedures, or treatment planning sessions if feasible. Students were invited to complete an anonymous electronic survey immediately after their experience, containing multiple choice and Likert-type questions (1=not at all valuable, 5=extremely valuable). Results Pilot data from 15 students are reported. No student had visited a RO department previously, and only 1 had attended a prior lecture from a radiation oncologist. Students reported the experience to be valuable (median 4, [4-4.5 interquartile range (IQR)]). 13 students (87%) rated the experience quite or extremely valuable. 14 students (93%) felt moderately, very, or extremely more knowledgeable about the role of radiation therapy in cancer management. After the microclerkship experience, some students were more interested in a full 2-4 week RO rotation (8 of 13, 62%) and RO career (4 of 13, 31%). Discussion Preliminary data suggest a valuable role of incorporating RO exposure into related medical student clerkships. Future plans include increasing student participation from these and other related clerkships and expanding the program to other institutions. We hypothesize that this approach will improve US medical student exposure to RO, which could make a subsequent positive impact on referral patterns and multidisciplinary patient care. Many US medical students gain clinical exposure to oncology specialties such as medical and/or surgical oncology throughout their core clerkships. Radiation oncology (RO), however, lacks similar representation during the standard curriculum, and few students pursue a dedicated RO elective. This substantially limits the broader understanding of the role of radiation therapy (RT) in multidisciplinary cancer care, including the role of palliative RT and survivorship care. The hypothesis of this study is that incorporating a 1-day "microclerkship" in RO as part of related clerkships will be feasible and perceived as valuable to participating students. The RO clerkship director at a single institution partnered with clerkship directors in medical oncology, palliative care, and radiology so that every 3rd or 4th year medical student rotating in those specialties would spend 1 day in RO during each clerkship. Students were given educational materials to review beforehand, including a 30-minute introductory recorded presentation about general RO principles, and a slide deck and article describing how radiation therapy is relevant to patient care in primary care and other medical subspecialties. At minimum, the day in RO included shadowing one radiation oncologist (and any resident working with them) in clinic and observation of patient treatments, including attending tumor board, brachytherapy procedures, or treatment planning sessions if feasible. Students were invited to complete an anonymous electronic survey immediately after their experience, containing multiple choice and Likert-type questions (1=not at all valuable, 5=extremely valuable). Pilot data from 15 students are reported. No student had visited a RO department previously, and only 1 had attended a prior lecture from a radiation oncologist. Students reported the experience to be valuable (median 4, [4-4.5 interquartile range (IQR)]). 13 students (87%) rated the experience quite or extremely valuable. 14 students (93%) felt moderately, very, or extremely more knowledgeable about the role of radiation therapy in cancer management. After the microclerkship experience, some students were more interested in a full 2-4 week RO rotation (8 of 13, 62%) and RO career (4 of 13, 31%). Preliminary data suggest a valuable role of incorporating RO exposure into related medical student clerkships. Future plans include increasing student participation from these and other related clerkships and expanding the program to other institutions. We hypothesize that this approach will improve US medical student exposure to RO, which could make a subsequent positive impact on referral patterns and multidisciplinary patient care.