Sarria Gustavo R, Timmerman Ramsey, Hermansen Michael, Malhotra Sameeksha, Chang Betty, Carter Raymond, Martinez David A, Sarria Gustavo J, Giordano Frank A, Chetty Indrin J, Roa Dante, Li Benjamin
Rayos Contra Cancer, Inc., Nashville, TN, United States.
Department of Radiation Oncology, University Hospital Bonn, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
Front Oncol. 2022 Apr 11;12:851849. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.851849. eCollection 2022.
Continuing medical education in stereotactic technology are scarcely accessible in developing countries. We report the results of upscaling a longitudinal telehealth training course on stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), after successfully developing a pilot course in Latin America.
Longitudinal training on SBRT and SRS was provided to radiation oncology practitioners in Peru and Colombia at no cost. The program included sixteen weekly 1-hour live conferencing sessions with interactive didactics and a cloud-based platform for case-based learning. Participant-reported confidence was measured in 16 SBRT/SRS practical domains, based on a 1-to-5 Likert scale. Pre- and post-curriculum exams were required for participation credit. Knowledge-baseline, pre- and post-curriculum surveys, overall and single professional-group confidence changes, and exam results were assessed.
One hundred and seventy-three radiotherapy professionals participated. An average of 56 (SD ±18) attendees per session were registered. Fifty (29.7%) participants completed the pre- and post-curriculum surveys, of which 30% were radiation oncologists (RO), 26% radiation therapists (RTT), 20% residents, 18% medical physicists and 6% neurosurgeons. Significant improvements were found across all 16 domains with overall mean +0.55 (SD ±0.17, p<0.001) Likert-scale points. Significant improvements in individual competences were most common among medical physicists, RTT and residents. Pre- and post-curriculum exams yielded a mean 16.15/30 (53.8 ± 20.3%) and 23.6/30 (78.7 ± 19.3%) correct answers (p<0.001).
Longitudinal telehealth training is an effective method for improving confidence and knowledge on SBRT/SRS amongst professionals. Remote continuing medical education should be widely adopted in lower-middle income countries.
发展中国家几乎无法获得立体定向技术方面的继续医学教育。在拉丁美洲成功开展了一个试点课程后，我们报告了扩大立体定向体部放射治疗（SBRT）和立体定向放射外科（SRS）纵向远程医疗培训课程的结果。
免费为秘鲁和哥伦比亚的放射肿瘤学从业者提供SBRT和SRS的纵向培训。该计划包括每周16次1小时的现场会议，配有互动式教学法，以及一个基于云的案例学习平台。根据1至5级李克特量表，在16个SBRT/SRS实践领域测量参与者报告的信心。参加课程需要进行课前和课后考试。评估了知识基线、课前和课后调查、总体和单一专业组信心变化以及考试结果。
173名放疗专业人员参加了培训。每次会议平均有56名（标准差±18）参与者注册。50名（29.7%）参与者完成了课前和课后调查，其中30%是放射肿瘤学家（RO），26%是放射治疗师（RTT），20%是住院医生，18%是医学物理学家，6%是神经外科医生。在所有16个领域都发现了显著改善，总体平均李克特量表得分提高了0.55（标准差±0.17，p<0.001）分。个体能力的显著提高在医学物理学家、RTT和住院医生中最为常见。课前和课后考试的平均正确答案分别为16.15/30（53.8±20.3%）和23.6/30（78.7±19.3%）（p<0.001）。
纵向远程医疗培训是提高专业人员对SBRT/SRS的信心和知识的有效方法。远程继续医学教育应在中低收入国家广泛采用。
