Case report: The Estonian experience of the IAEA/ESTRO “Train the Trainers” project

In Estonia, the delivery of radiotherapy historically was performed by nurses who had worked in the radiotherapy department or who had taken a 2 week course in radiotherapy. The minimum requirement currently for working as a radiation therapist (RTT) is a BSc. Radiography. However, within this programme, the radiotherapy-specific content only amounts to the equivalent of 3 European Credit Transfers (3ECTS). Since commencing on the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO)/International Atomic energy Agency (IAEA) Best Practice in Radiation Oncology: A project to train the RTT trainers project, and in order to fill this educational deficit, 4 short courses have been prepared by and for RTTs, with over 130 participants. Currently, a Baltic Master’s programme with specific radiotherapy content is under development.