title: Radiation oncology medical student clerkship: implementation and evaluation of a bi-institutional pilot curriculum.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To develop and evaluate a structured didactic curriculum to complement clinical experiences during radiation oncology clerkships at 2 academic medical centers.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
authors: Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois. Electronic address: dgolden@radonc.uchicago.edu.
authors: Daniel W
authors: DW
authors: Golden
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Spektor
authors: Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
authors: Sonali
authors: S
authors: Rudra
authors: Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
authors: Mark C
authors: MC
authors: Ranck
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Monica S
authors: MS
authors: Krishnan
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Rachel B
authors: RB
authors: Jimenez
authors: Department of Radiation Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors: Akila N
authors: AN
authors: Viswanathan
authors: Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
authors: Matthew
authors: M
authors: Koshy
authors: Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
authors: Andrew R
authors: AR
authors: Howard
authors: Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
authors: Steven J
authors: SJ
authors: Chmura
mesh_terms: D001900:Boston; D002321:Career Choice; D002641:Chicago; D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D016730:Program Development / Q000592:standards; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011880:Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted; D013337:Students, Medical