Department of Radiation Oncology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
Pract Radiat Oncol. 2021 Jan-Feb;11(1):5-12. doi: 10.1016/j.prro.2020.04.010. Epub 2020 May 16.
To characterize the resident experience preparing for the 2019 American Board of Radiology initial certification (IC) qualifying examinations in radiation oncology.
The Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology distributed a survey to 360 radiation oncology residents from the 2019 and 2020 graduating classes covering topics pertinent to preparation for the medical physics (MP), radiation and cancer biology (RCB), and clinical radiation oncology (CRO) qualifying examinations.
The response rate was 58% (n = 210). In the 12 weeks before the MP and RCB examinations, first-time examinees studied a median of 160 hours (interquartile range, 96 to 270). Residents reported a "moderate" or "significant" negative effect on research productivity (3 [2-4]), mental health (3 [2-4]), clinical development (3 [2-4]), and family life (3 [2-4]). Half of surveyed residents (52%, n = 110) used a protected research or elective block to study while an additional 21% (n = 45) used a median of 5 (3-20) vacation days. Residents overall "agreed" (4 [2-4]) that their program's physics course was "important" for their preparation but were "neutral" (3 [2-4]) regarding the value of their program's radiobiology course. Question-based educational resources were most frequently rated as "important" study resources. Respondents "strongly" endorsed the development of a consensus radiation oncology curriculum (5 [4-5]) and "agreed" (4 [3-4]) that consolidation of the MP, RCB, and CRO qualifying examinations into a single written examination would be preferred.
Radiation oncology residents dedicate substantial time preparing for the IC examinations at the expense of training- and health-related outcomes. Residents report a wide range in quality of internal program didactic courses in physics and radiobiology, endorse development of a consensus radiation oncology curriculum, and prefer consolidation of the three qualifying examinations into a single written IC examination. We caution the high pass rates seen on the 2019 examinations do not obviate the need for ongoing improvement in radiation oncology graduate medical education and the board certification process.
描述准备 2019 年美国放射学委员会初始认证（IC）资格考试的住院医师的体验。
放射肿瘤学住院医师协会向 2019 年和 2020 年毕业的 360 名放射肿瘤学住院医师分发了一份涵盖医学物理学（MP）、辐射和癌症生物学（RCB）以及临床放射肿瘤学（CRO）资格考试相关主题的调查。
回复率为 58%（n = 210）。在 MP 和 RCB 考试前的 12 周内，首次参加考试的考生平均学习了 160 小时（四分位间距，96 至 270）。住院医师报告说，他们的研究生产力（3 [2-4]）、心理健康（3 [2-4]）、临床发展（3 [2-4]）和家庭生活（3 [2-4]）受到了“中度”或“显著”的负面影响。一半的调查住院医师（52%，n = 110）使用受保护的研究或选修块来学习，而另外 21%（n = 45）使用了 5 天（3-20）的平均休假。住院医师总体上“同意”（4 [2-4]）他们的项目的物理课程对他们的准备很“重要”，但对他们的项目的放射生物学课程的价值则持“中立”（3 [2-4]）态度。基于问题的教育资源被评为最重要的学习资源。受访者强烈支持制定一致的放射肿瘤学课程（5 [4-5]），并“同意”（4 [3-4]）将 MP、RCB 和 CRO 资格考试合并为单一的笔试将是首选。
放射肿瘤学住院医师为准备 IC 考试投入了大量时间，这影响了培训和健康相关的结果。住院医师报告说，他们所在项目的物理和放射生物学内部教学课程的质量参差不齐，支持制定一致的放射肿瘤学课程，并希望将三门资格考试合并为单一的书面 IC 考试。我们警告说，2019 年考试的高通过率并不能免除放射肿瘤学研究生医学教育和委员会认证过程中不断改进的需要。
