Radiation Oncology Medical Student Clerkship: Implementation and Evaluation of a Bi-institutional Pilot Curriculum

Purpose To develop and evaluate a structured didactic curriculum to complement clinical experiences during radiation oncology clerkships at 2 academic medical centers. Methods and Materials A structured didactic curriculum was developed to teach fundamentals of radiation oncology and improve confidence in clinical competence. Curriculum lectures included: ( 1 ) an overview of radiation oncology (history, types of treatments, and basic clinic flow); ( 2 ) fundamentals of radiation biology and physics; and ( 3 ) practical aspects of radiation treatment simulation and planning. In addition, a hands-on dosimetry session taught students fundamentals of treatment planning. The curriculum was implemented at 2 academic departments in 2012. Students completed anonymous evaluations using a Likert scale to rate the usefulness of curriculum components (1 = not at all, 5 = extremely). Likert scores are reported as (median [interquartile range]). Results Eighteen students completed the curriculum during their 4-week rotation (University of Chicago n=13, Harvard Longwood Campus n=5). All curriculum components were rated as extremely useful: introduction to radiation oncology (5 [4-5]); radiation biology and physics (5 [5-5]); practical aspects of radiation oncology (5 [4-5]); and the treatment planning session (5 [5-5]). Students rated the curriculum as “quite useful” to “extremely useful” ( 1 ) to help students understand radiation oncology as a specialty; ( 2 ) to increase student comfort with their specialty decision; and ( 3 ) to help students with their future transition to a radiation oncology residency. Conclusions A standardized curriculum for medical students completing a 4-week radiation oncology clerkship was successfully implemented at 2 institutions. The curriculum was favorably reviewed. As a result of completing the curriculum, medical students felt more comfortable with their specialty decision and better prepared to begin radiation oncology residency.