Promoting professional judgement through peer debate in radiation therapy undergraduate curriculum

Maeve Kearney; Cicely Roche; Claire Poole

doi:10.1016/j.tipsro.2022.10.002

Promoting professional judgement through peer debate in radiation therapy undergraduate curriculum

Tech Innov Patient Support Radiat Oncol. 2022 Oct 7:24:63-66. doi: 10.1016/j.tipsro.2022.10.002. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Maeve Kearney¹, Cicely Roche², Claire Poole¹

Affiliations

¹ Applied Radiation Therapy Trinity, Discipline of Radiation Therapy, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
² Trinity College, Dublin, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Centre for Academic Practice, Ireland.

Abstract

Radiation therapists (RTs) are often required to exercise professional judgement when faced with the ambiguity inherent in professional dilemmas not comprehensively accommodated by the professional Code of Conduct. Clinical educators therefore need to design curriculum that motivates students to apply professional judgement in ambiguous situations. Role play and peer debate enables development of competencies related to professional judgement. The aim of this short communication is to report on the rationale for and integration of peer teaching resources that prompt students to justify, through discussion and debate, the basis of their own judgement and those of their peers.

Keywords: Educational interventions; Moral reasoning development; Peer debate; Professional judgement; Radiation therapy curriculum.