Maintaining High Quality Dosimetry Education in Radiation Oncology Medical Residency Amid and Post-COVID-19 Pandemic: A Reimagined Training Rotation

BACKGROUND: The Mayo Clinic radiation oncology medical residency program has maintained a dedicated medical dosimetry rotation since 1996. During this one-month rotation, residents practice and complete treatment plans under the supervision of certified medical dosimetrists. Skill development includes image fusions, contouring, treatment planning, and plan review all occurring in a one-on-one face-to-face educational environment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our department incorporated dosimetry telework, and the rotation was modified into remote experience with an emphasis on creating enduring content while still maintaining a high-quality educational rotation. METHODS: In early 2020, the medical residency and dosimetry program leaders evaluated the state of the resident rotation with the goal of identifying areas of the rotation that could be made into enduring content, modernizing the objectives of the rotation, and adapting the face-to-face educational experience into a virtual environment. The new goals and platform were implemented in January 2022. Evaluations pre and post implementation were reviewed. RESULTS: After education committee review, goals and objectives were updated to reflect current practice. The rotation was restructured into a disease-site specific approach, with shared supervision by disease site, rather than a single dosimetry mentor. Site-specific standard of practice (SOP) documentation and twenty-four step-by-step tutorial videos teaching 3D and inverse treatment planning techniques were created. Virtual practice scenarios were created to ensure the appropriate breadth of experience. After onboarding for the rotation, residents reviewed site-specific SOP documentation and training tutorials while planning virtual cases independently, under disease site-specific dosimetry supervision. Virtual interactive plan review sessions of both practice and actual patients were performed through Microsoft Teams with supervising dosimetrists. Medical resident evaluation of the dosimetry rotation pre- and post- pandemic were collected via survey. Preliminary feedback on the recent implementation of enduring content and remote environment education have been positive, citing high quality content and satisfaction with virtual learning platform from residents. Raw data collection is currently in progress. Mentor feedback also cited improved rotation quality with enhanced efficiency of one-on-one instructional time. DISCUSSION: As the telework environment continues to evolve; the initial results of the restructured rotation present a positive outlook on the future of remote education and the success of enduring content from the perspective of both medical residents and dosimetrists. These results may also translate to the evolution of other aspects of the residency program. Further enhancements of the rotation including rotational assessments and attending physician interaction are planned for future resident rotations.