ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S4223

RTT - Education, training, advanced practice and role developments

ESTRO 2025

Results: Training was hampered by COVID-19 regulations, prolonging the training period from September 2020 till September 2023, and necessitating repetition of theoretical knowledge. Nonetheless, all RTTs successfully completed the training in approximately 56 hours, including 35 hours on the Hamilton-T1, 15 hours on various regularized breathing patterns, and 6 hours on the Hamilton-MR1 to ventilate patients in the MRI for research purposes. After the exams, all RTTs received a certificate, allowing them to ventilate healthy volunteers and patients independently, and so far two RTTs were certified to ventilate in the MRI. Conclusion: Structured training of RTTs resulted in a self-sufficient and efficient application of non-invasive mechanical ventilation in clinical radiotherapy research. Certified RTTs can train their peers, streamlining future training by incorporating modules and peer-led training, reducing reliance on outside trainers. This approach reduces training hours for new RTTs while maintaining high skills.

Keywords: non-invasive, ventilation, RTT training

References: [1] Parkes et al. Br J Radiol. 2016 Jun;89(1062):20150741 [2] West et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2019 Mar 15;103(4):1004-1010.

[3] Van Kesteren et al. Radiat Oncol. 2022 May 21;17(1):99. [4] Veldman et al. JCA Advances. 2024 Dec (1). Issues 3-4.

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Poster Discussion Development of a role expansion for Radiation Therapists in MRI-Guided Brachytherapy for Gynaecological Cancers Sylvia Hanna, Carminia Lapuz, Adeline Lim Radiation Oncology, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia

Purpose/Objective: Background

Rapid technological advances in radiation oncology have provided opportunities for radiation therapists (RTTs) to expand their role within the multidisciplinary team to enhance patient care and improve departmental efficiency. In gynaecological cancer brachytherapy (GynBT), RTTs are traditionally only involved in treatment delivery. However, RTTs are highly skilled and capable of performing more complex processes required for MR image-guided GynBT. Therefore, there is potential to broaden the RTTs role to include tasks in the patient journey previously considered outside their scope of practice. The aim is to develop and implement an expanded role for GynBT RTTs, identifying additional tasks RTTs can perform safely in the GynBT patient journey to enhance care and improve efficiency. Material/Methods: The GynBT workflow at a single centre was examined, noting potential tasks that could be allocated to RTTs to enhance patient care, improve workflow efficiency and optimize resource allocation. This was used to define an expanded advanced practice role for GynBT RTTs that was subsequently implemented within the centre. Results: Following review of the GynBT workflow, an expanded role for GynBT RTTs was defined, with knowledge and skill development required in the following areas: • Pre-treatment coordination of patient journey: patient admissions, operating theatre, and radiology.