What does "Advanced" mean in 2023? reflecting on 10 years of the ESTRO advanced Skills in modern radiotherapy course

E Forde; M Josipovic; M Kamphuis; J Lopez; P Remeijer; S Rivera; P Scherer; L Wiersema; R de Jong

doi:10.1016/j.tipsro.2023.100227

What does "Advanced" mean in 2023? reflecting on 10 years of the ESTRO advanced Skills in modern radiotherapy course

Tech Innov Patient Support Radiat Oncol. 2023 Dec 1:29:100227. doi: 10.1016/j.tipsro.2023.100227. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

E Forde¹, M Josipovic², M Kamphuis³, J Lopez⁴, P Remeijer⁵, S Rivera⁶, P Scherer⁷, L Wiersema⁵, R de Jong⁸

Affiliations

¹ Applied Radiation Therapy Trinity (ARTT), Discipline of Radiation Therapy, School of Medicine, Trinity St. James's Cancer Institute, Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
² Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen Denmark.
³ Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy, Inholland University of applied sciences, Haarlem, the Netherlands.
⁴ Department of Radiation Oncology, Instituto de Biomedicina de Sevilla/Hospital Universitario Virgen del Rocío/CSIC/Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain.
⁵ Department of Radiation Oncology, The Dutch Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
⁶ Institut Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif, France.
⁷ University Clinic for Radiotherapy and RadioOncology of the PMU at the County Hospital Salzburg, Austria.
⁸ Department of Radiation Oncology, Amsterdam University Medical Centres - location AMC, Cancer Institute Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Abstract

The roles and responsibilities of radiation therapists (RTTs) are many and varied. Professional expectations are influenced by the technology available, as well as the level of autonomy RTTs have in their daily practice. This professional range requires RTTs to possess a unique set of ever evolving skills, posing challenges from an educational perspective. Teaching these "advanced skills" has been the ambition the ESTRO Advanced Skills in Modern Radiotherapy course. In the 10th year of this course, the Faculty look back and reflect on how our programme has evolved and what it has achieved.

Keywords: Advanced Skills; ESTRO School; Education.