Department of Radiation Oncology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2012 Mar 1;82(3):e573-80. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2011.07.002. Epub 2011 Oct 22.
Radiation oncologists are faced with the challenge of irradiating tumors to a curative dose while limiting toxicity to healthy surrounding tissues. This can be achieved only with superior knowledge of radiologic anatomy and treatment planning. Educational resources designed to meet these specific needs are lacking. A web-based interactive module designed to improve residents' knowledge and application of key anatomy concepts pertinent to radiotherapy treatment planning was developed, and its effectiveness was assessed.
The module, based on gynecologic malignancies, was developed in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team of subject matter experts. Subsequently, a multi-centre randomized controlled study was conducted to test the module's effectiveness. Thirty-six radiation oncology residents participated in the study; 1920 were granted access to the module (intervention group), and 17 in the control group relied on traditional methods to acquire their knowledge. Pretests and posttests were administered to all participants. Statistical analysis was carried out using paired t test, analysis of variance, and post hoc tests.
The randomized control study revealed that the intervention group's pretest and posttest mean scores were 35% and 52%, respectively, and those of the control group were 37% and 42%, respectively. The mean improvement in test scores was 17% (p < 0.05) for the intervention group and 5% (p = not significant) for the control group. Retrospective pretest and posttest surveys showed a statistically significant change on all measured module objectives.
The use of an interactive e-learning teaching module for radiation oncology is an effective method to improve the radiologic anatomy knowledge and treatment planning skills of radiation oncology residents.
放射肿瘤学家面临的挑战是，既要给肿瘤施以治愈剂量的辐射，又要限制对健康周围组织的毒性。这只有通过对放射解剖学和治疗计划有更高的认识才能实现。缺乏专门满足这些特定需求的教育资源。因此，开发了一个基于妇科恶性肿瘤的基于网络的交互式模块，旨在提高住院医师对与放射治疗计划相关的关键解剖概念的知识和应用，并评估其效果。
该模块由一个多学科的主题专家团队合作开发。随后，进行了一项多中心随机对照研究，以测试该模块的效果。36 名放射肿瘤学住院医师参与了这项研究；1920 人被允许访问该模块（干预组），而对照组的 17 人则依靠传统方法获取知识。对所有参与者进行了预测试和后测试。使用配对 t 检验、方差分析和事后检验进行统计分析。
随机对照研究显示，干预组的预测试和后测试平均分数分别为 35%和 52%，对照组分别为 37%和 42%。干预组的测试分数平均提高了 17%（p<0.05），对照组提高了 5%（p=无显著差异）。回顾性预测试和后测试调查显示，所有测量的模块目标都有统计学上的显著变化。
使用交互式电子学习教学模块是提高放射肿瘤学住院医师放射解剖学知识和治疗计划技能的有效方法。
