TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of a Radiation Oncology Microclerkship as a Component of Medical Student Education
AU - Subramanian, Shyamala
AU - Parikh, Pranav
AU - Kra, Joshua A.
AU - Maldjian, Pierre D.
AU - Walther, Susanne
AU - Kim, Sung
AU - DeNunzio, Nicholas J.
AU - Abrams, Matthew J.
AU - Braunstein, Steve E.
AU - Gunther, Jillian R.
AU - Mattes, Malcolm D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, The Author(s) under exclusive licence to American Association for Cancer Education.
PY - 2023/12
Y1 - 2023/12
N2 - Compared to most oncologic subspecialties, radiation oncology (RO) lacks a natural pathway for incorporation into the clinical clerkships, and few students ever complete a formal rotation in RO. The feasibility, and perceived value, of a 1-day “microclerkship” exposure in RO during other related clerkships was evaluated in this study. At a single institution, the RO clerkship director partnered with clerkship directors in medical oncology, palliative care, and radiology so that every 3rd or 4th year student would spend 1 day in RO during those clerkships. Afterwards, students completed an electronic survey containing multiple choice and 5-point Likert-type questions describing their experience. Descriptive statistics are reported. Ninety-seven students completed the RO microclerkship over 2 years, and 81 completed the survey (response rate 84%). Only 8 students (10%) had ever been in a RO department previously. During the microclerkship, 73 students (90%) saw at least one new patient consultation; 77 (95%) were involved in contouring or treatment planning; 76 (94%) saw treatment delivery; and 38 (47%) saw a brachytherapy procedure. Seventy-nine students (98%) felt that the microclerkship was at least moderately valuable (mean Likert-type rating 4.01, SD 0.73). Forty students (49%) were either somewhat or much more interested in participating in a longer (2–4 week) rotation in radiation oncology (mean Likert-type rating 3.59, SD 0.83). This study demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating a 1-day RO microclerkship into other related elective clerkships. Students viewed the experience favorably and found it valuable in their education.
AB - Compared to most oncologic subspecialties, radiation oncology (RO) lacks a natural pathway for incorporation into the clinical clerkships, and few students ever complete a formal rotation in RO. The feasibility, and perceived value, of a 1-day “microclerkship” exposure in RO during other related clerkships was evaluated in this study. At a single institution, the RO clerkship director partnered with clerkship directors in medical oncology, palliative care, and radiology so that every 3rd or 4th year student would spend 1 day in RO during those clerkships. Afterwards, students completed an electronic survey containing multiple choice and 5-point Likert-type questions describing their experience. Descriptive statistics are reported. Ninety-seven students completed the RO microclerkship over 2 years, and 81 completed the survey (response rate 84%). Only 8 students (10%) had ever been in a RO department previously. During the microclerkship, 73 students (90%) saw at least one new patient consultation; 77 (95%) were involved in contouring or treatment planning; 76 (94%) saw treatment delivery; and 38 (47%) saw a brachytherapy procedure. Seventy-nine students (98%) felt that the microclerkship was at least moderately valuable (mean Likert-type rating 4.01, SD 0.73). Forty students (49%) were either somewhat or much more interested in participating in a longer (2–4 week) rotation in radiation oncology (mean Likert-type rating 3.59, SD 0.83). This study demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating a 1-day RO microclerkship into other related elective clerkships. Students viewed the experience favorably and found it valuable in their education.
KW - Clerkship
KW - Oncology education
KW - Radiation oncology
KW - Undergraduate medical education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85165202621&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85165202621&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s13187-023-02342-4
DO - 10.1007/s13187-023-02342-4
M3 - Article
C2 - 37468769
AN - SCOPUS:85165202621
SN - 0885-8195
VL - 38
SP - 1861
EP - 1864
JO - Journal of Cancer Education
JF - Journal of Cancer Education
IS - 6
ER -