Abstract
PurposeMedical students’ knowledge of radiation oncology (RO) is of increasing importance with a rising prevalence of malignancies. However, RO teaching in medical schools is heterogeneous and has not been analyzed at a federal level yet. Therefore, the following survey aims to provide a national overview of RO teaching in Germany.MethodsA questionnaire containing multiple-choice and free-text questions covering the extent and topics of RO teaching was sent to RO departments of all university hospitals in Germany and was answered by the heads of department/main lecturers.Results24/35 (68.6%) RO departments returned completed forms. Most faculties employ lectures (91.7%), seminars (87.5%), and practical/bedside training (75.0%), whereas training in radiation biology and medical physics are rare (25% and 33.3%, respectively). Main topics covered are general RO (100%), radiation biology (91.7%), and side effects (87.5%). Regarding RO techniques and concepts, image-guided and intensity-modulated radiotherapy are taught at all faculties, followed by palliative and stereotactic techniques (87.5% each). Notably, all departments offered at least a partial rotation in RO in conjunction with radiology and/or nuclear medicine departments in the last year of medical school, while only 70.8% provided a complete rotation in RO. In addition, 57.1% of the departments have taken measures concerning the upcoming National Competence-Based Learning Objectives Catalogue (NKLM) for medical education.ConclusionRO plays an integral but underrepresented role in clinical medical education in Germany, but faces new challenges in the development of practical and competence-based education, which will require further innovative and interdisciplinary concepts.
Highlights
Materials and methodsIncreasing numbers of patients are diagnosed with cancer each year, reaching an annual incidence of over 450,000 patients in Germany [1]
With around 50% of oncological patients having an indication for radiation therapy (RT) during their course of disease [2, 3], knowledge of radiation oncology (RO) has cardinal importance for both oncological disciplines as well as for general practitioners to provide patients with adequate counsel
The aim of this study is to describe the state-of-the-art of RO medical education in Germany, to identify potential fields of further development, and to delineate future challenges ahead
Summary
Materials and methodsIncreasing numbers of patients are diagnosed with cancer each year, reaching an annual incidence of over 450,000 patients in Germany [1]. There are common misbeliefs about RO and its treatment spectrum, which persist until the end of medical school [4], demanding an improvement in teaching. Innovative concepts such as internships or interdisciplinary classes could be of additional value [4, 5], but are not obligatory across Germany.
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