Improving Education in Radiation Oncology in Poland

Abstract

Background A national, anonymous survey evaluating the quality of radiation oncology training in Poland was conducted by young members of Polish Society of Radiation Oncology (yPTRO) in 2018 and more than 70% radiation oncology (RO) trainees participated. We noted that courses included into the specialty program were not sufficient for up to 80% of participants. Thus, we identified several aspects of the training requiring modifications. To address those issues, we introduced a new set of on-line lectures prepared by yPTRO members. Methods Based on the survey and the questionnaire on social media, we started a series of on-line educational lectures hosted on video conference software. Topics were chosen by RO trainees. Sessions were recorded and are publicly available. Pre- and post-surveys of participants which evaluated the quality of the sessions were conducted in half of the cases. Sessions were advertised via social media on dedicated RO groups. Results Four lectures were held from April to October 2021. We covered the following topics of: consolidation immunotherapy in stage III NSCLC, introduction to biostatistics, radiotherapy in (oligo)metastatic prostate cancer and emergencies in RO. As of now, the lectures had almost 600 views. One woman and three men from four different institutions presented the lectures which lasted from 45 to 200 minutes. Based on the evaluation, the consolidation immunotherapy was considered the most useful. However, the participants reported that more case-based discussion is needed. Biostatistical workshops got 4.8/5.0 points and besides too long time of the lecture (the one which took more than 3 hours) were received as very well prepared. Similar to the immunotherapy lecture, more practical and case based aspects were recognized as necessary in the future lectures. The optimum frequency of the lectures declared by the majority of responders was once a month. Further lectures will cover the topics of brain tumours and various aspects of cranial and extracranial stereotactic radiotherapy. Discussion We believe that virtual education on an online platform is a practical and feasible way of collaboration on national level. We expect this effort will result in an improved confidence of RO trainees and will broaden the knowledge of the participants. A national, anonymous survey evaluating the quality of radiation oncology training in Poland was conducted by young members of Polish Society of Radiation Oncology (yPTRO) in 2018 and more than 70% radiation oncology (RO) trainees participated. We noted that courses included into the specialty program were not sufficient for up to 80% of participants. Thus, we identified several aspects of the training requiring modifications. To address those issues, we introduced a new set of on-line lectures prepared by yPTRO members. Based on the survey and the questionnaire on social media, we started a series of on-line educational lectures hosted on video conference software. Topics were chosen by RO trainees. Sessions were recorded and are publicly available. Pre- and post-surveys of participants which evaluated the quality of the sessions were conducted in half of the cases. Sessions were advertised via social media on dedicated RO groups. Four lectures were held from April to October 2021. We covered the following topics of: consolidation immunotherapy in stage III NSCLC, introduction to biostatistics, radiotherapy in (oligo)metastatic prostate cancer and emergencies in RO. As of now, the lectures had almost 600 views. One woman and three men from four different institutions presented the lectures which lasted from 45 to 200 minutes. Based on the evaluation, the consolidation immunotherapy was considered the most useful. However, the participants reported that more case-based discussion is needed. Biostatistical workshops got 4.8/5.0 points and besides too long time of the lecture (the one which took more than 3 hours) were received as very well prepared. Similar to the immunotherapy lecture, more practical and case based aspects were recognized as necessary in the future lectures. The optimum frequency of the lectures declared by the majority of responders was once a month. Further lectures will cover the topics of brain tumours and various aspects of cranial and extracranial stereotactic radiotherapy. We believe that virtual education on an online platform is a practical and feasible way of collaboration on national level. We expect this effort will result in an improved confidence of RO trainees and will broaden the knowledge of the participants.