title: Educational Impact of a Structured Radiation Oncology Clerkship Curriculum: An Interinstitutional Comparison.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many medical school clerkships have structured curricula; however, most radiation oncology clerkships do not. The Radiation Oncology Education Collaborative Study Group (ROECSG) implemented a curriculum for fourth-year radiation oncology clerkships at 14 institutions. We hypothesized that students completing clerkships with the curriculum would report greater subjective knowledge and comfort to function as a radiation oncology resident compared with students completing clerkships without the curriculum.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ROECSG curriculum included three 1-hour lectures and a 1-hour hands-on radiation treatment planning workshop. Applicants to a single radiation oncology residency program in the 2014-2015 academic year were sent an anonymous, validated clerkship experience survey. Students indicated if clerkships were completed at a curriculum site. Likert-type data (1 = not at all, 5 = extremely) are reported as median (interquartile range).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Respondents described 276 clerkship experiences, of which 64 (23.2%) were completed at a curriculum site. Students whose first clerkship was at a curriculum site perceived greater postclerkship confidence in knowledge of radiation biology (3 [3-4] versus 2 [2-3], P < .01), treatment setup/positioning (3 [2-3] versus 2 [2-3], P < .05), treatment planning (3 [2-3] versus 2 [2-3], P < .01), and ability to integrate evidence-based medicine into treatment (4 [2-4] versus 3 [2-4], P < .05). Students who completed any clerkship with the curriculum had greater postclerkship confidence to function as a radiation oncology resident (3 [3-4] versus 3 [2-3], P < .05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results support the curriculum's ability to increase student knowledge in radiation oncology, especially in the students' first clerkship. Further, these findings suggest that expanded implementation of such curricula may ensure a rewarding educational experience during radiation oncology clerkships.
authors.affiliation: Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Jonathan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Oskvarek
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Oncology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: Jeffrey V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Brower
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Pranshu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mohindra
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Raleigh
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Chmura
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation and Cellular Oncology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Electronic address: dgolden@radonc.uchicago.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Golden
mesh_terms: D002982:Clinical Clerkship / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003479:Curriculum / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000193:education*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013663:Teaching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States
keywords: Undergraduate medical education; curriculum evaluation; radiation oncology