Po-Thur Eve General-38: The Virtual Radiotherapy Department

Abstract

With the number of clinical cases increasing each year, there is pressure on all clinical staff to do more clinical service. At the same time there is a demand to train more students in all of the radiotherapy disciplines. Regulatory agencies are also demanding more continuing education and upgrading for existing staff. We have recently introduced a new clinical treatment planning system, which requires a significant amount of training for all staff members. To meet these increased demands for training all levels of learners we have developed a “Virtual Radiotherapy Department”. The Virtual Radiotherapy Department will provide on line teaching of basic physics and treatment planning for radiation therapy students, radiation oncology residents, and physicsgraduate students and residents. By using on‐line interactive tools it is possible to teach all the different students at different levels by making basic information available to all students, but linking to more advanced information for those that require it. On‐line videos have been created describing several clinical techniques using various equipment. These videos will be used to provide students instruction as well as for continuing education for existing staff or new staff. These tools will be used to provide training to all users as we introduce our new treatment planning system, showing them exactly how to complete various tasks. These videos are customized to our treatment processes; therefore, they show users exactly what is required in the most efficient manner. Funding Provided by Alberta Health and Wellness and Varian.