ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S2658

Interdisciplinary - Education in radiation therapy

ESTRO 2024

Keywords: curriculum, residency, program

299

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Implementation of collaborative Radiotherapy open days to improve student recruitment and retention

Nicky Hutton 1,2 , Chloe Coughlin 1 , Sarah-Jane Ketterer 2 , Daniel Blair 2

1 Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Radiotherapy, Liverpoool, United Kingdom. 2 University of Liverpool, Radiotherapy, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Purpose/Objective:

Attrition amongst students from pre – registration clinical education programmes is a well-established challenge, with attrition from Therapeutic Radiography courses being as high as 42.9% in the UK (1). The most recent data has identified a national vacancy rate of almost 10% for Therapeutic Radiographers across the UK, an increase on last year (2). Attrition can be complex as it is often multi-faceted. Although, ‘wrong career choice’ has been identified as a major factor in student attrition, with 70% of higher education institutions (HEI) citing this when surveyed (3). Historically, prospective students were mandated to gain experience in a radiotherapy department prior to application (3), resulting in individual visits to the department; a resource intensive method and one that was dependent on the clinical workload, proving difficult to ensure thorough understanding of the role and of the demands of a therapeutic radiography training programme were understood. Consequently, a series of collaborative open days between the University of Liverpool and the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre have been developed. The aim of which is to provide a group visit to the department, resulting in a cost-effective and thorough method of providing prospective students with essential knowledge and understanding of a career in Therapeutic Radiography.

Material/Methods:

Four collaborative open day events were delivered throughout 2023, with ethical approval from the University.

Students were invited into the radiotherapy department where they moved across four different stations where they received information and practical demonstrations from students and qualified Therapeutic Radiographers.

1. Student and new professionals 2. Pre-treatment: Immobilisation, scanning and computer planning 3. Treatment and imaging 4. Career development opportunities

This involved viewing the treatment room, observation of the linear accelerator in operation, including imaging a phantom and delivering a beam.

Prospective students were asked to complete a questionnaire pre and post visit where they were as to rate their knowledge of the following areas using a Likert scale (no understanding – superior understanding).