- Email: [email protected]
CE for the 21st Century
for students to consolidate their knowledge and experience through interprofessional (IP) knowledge sharing may assist in reducing the theory practice gap and redirecting focus to the patient. Method/Process: Ten radiation therapy students on placement in their final year clinical practicum volunteered to participate in developing and delivering a presentation to nursing students on ‘‘What is Radiation Therapy’’. Minimal instructions were provided to the students in order to maximize self-directed development of content. A rehearsal was organized and feedback solicited to further develop the content. A post-delivery debrief was conducted and additional feedback was gathered. Results/Benefits/Challenges: Anecdotal feedback from participating students at a post-delivery debrief indicated that all students saw value in engaging in the presentation development and delivery process. Developing content allowed students to consolidate didactic and clinical knowledge from various subject areas into a single focus, and strengthen understanding. Feedback provided at the rehearsal session reinforced the concept of focusing IP knowledge sharing around the patient. The act of delivering the presentation in a meaningful manner and being able to address questions fortified the students’ confidence in their knowledge of their practice. Conclusion/Impact/Outcomes: Opportunities to engage students to pause, think about practice, and consider how best to communicate to an IP audience, assisted students in reviewing past and new knowledge to create new knowledge and reinforcing good clinical practice in relation to the patient. A Twitter Journal Club for Medical Radiation Professionals (#medradjclub): CPD/CE for the 21st Century Lisa Di Prosperoab, Geoff Curriec, Adam Westernikd, Julia Watsone, Charlotte Beardmoref, Amanda Bolderstong, Carly McCuaigh, Nick Woznitzai and Julie Nightingalej a - Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre b - Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto c - Charles Sturt University d - Royal Brisbane Hospital e - Foothills Medical Centre f - Society and College of Radiographers g - BC Cancer Agency h - Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Science i - Homerton University Hospital & Canterbury Christ Church University j - University of Salford Purpose/Aim: There is a growing trend towards the use of online journal clubs amongst healthcare professionals as a means of sharing knowledge, discussing evidence in an accessible form of continued professional development (CPD). In March 2015, the Medical Radiation Journal Club was founded to run monthly Twitter-based journal critique and discussion. The Twitter journal club is aimed at all medical radiation professionals. The hour-long meetings are based on a key selected theme relevant to all medical radiation technologists, with one key study chosen from the literature and supplemented by suggested reading. The objective of this study was to examine the progression and development of this initiative over the initial 12 months. Method/Process: Tweets including the journal club hashtag (#medradjclub) were analysed for each session through third party services, Symplur (www. symplur.com) and Keyhole (www.keyhole.com). Available information included total tweet count, total participants, total impressions and country of tweet origin. Results/Benefits/Challenges: Provisional analysis indicates that there is a core group of consistent participants, with others joining for topics relevant to their area of practice. The initial trend is for relatively consistent volumes of tweets and impressions across the chats. The Twitter journal club has a global reach, typically 500+ tweets per hour and a total reach in the order of 1000000 per session. Conclusion/Impact/Outcomes: Online journal clubs provide a forum for promotion of evidence based practice, academic debate and professional
networking, free from traditional physical boundaries. Analysis of the first twelve months of #MedRadJclub demonstrates consistent participation and global reach, and is an accessible, interactive platform for discussion of research and practice in this field. The Twitter journal club is consistent with globalisation and internationalisation strategies amongst the medical radiation technology professions.
Peer-to-Peer Mentorship: An Unexpected Benefit of Journal Club Participation Julie Kanga, Tara Rosewallab and Winnie Liab a - Princess Margaret Cancer Centre b - Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto Purpose/Aim: The purpose of a Radiation Therapist-led Journal Club is to increase awareness of published research findings and enable participants to integrate relevant, evidence-based findings into their clinical practice. While Journal Club participation has many acknowledged benefits, it also has the unexpected benefit of fostering personal, professional and organizational growth through peer-to-peer mentorship. Method/Process: In a well-established, Radiation Therapist-led monthly Journal Club, novice participants were paired with more experienced members based on technical, clinical and research expertise. Prior to the session, the expert coached and mentored the novice to search, acquire, critique, and communicate the findings of a research paper, relating this directly to local clinical practice. A PowerPoint presentation was generated by both members, summarizing the article and providing a critical analysis of the article, as a method of leading a discussion. Results/Benefits/Challenges: During Journal Club-focused mentoring, the mentee can improve their research and communication skills, and increase their confidence when applying those skills and discussing areas of practice uncertainty with their peers. Simultaneously, the mentor develops and hones their preceptorship skills through the process of guiding the mentee to derive, discuss and disseminate research findings. This peer-to-peer mentorship experience also provides opportunities for self-reflection, for both the mentee and mentor within their technical, clinical and research practices. Increasing the number of Radiation Therapists with critical analysis skills also benefits the department as a whole, by producing a larger cohort of practitioners who are able to reflect upon and confidently discuss research findings as they relate it to clinical practice. Challenges associated with Journal Club mentorship include time constraints, and finding a good skills/personality match for the mentor and mentee. Conclusion/Impact/Outcomes: Journal Club participation develops Radiation Therapists’ ability to critically evaluate research and apply these findings to clinical practice. The peer-to-peer mentorship aspect of Journal Club produces a larger cohort of practitioners who are able to share and apply evidence-based practice principles.
Patient Perceptions of Digital Displays in Radiation Therapy Jill Sutherland, Gina Kowaski and Michelle Bennett CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Purpose/Aim: The purpose of this study was to: 1. Explore patient perceptions about the design and content of digital displays used in Radiation Therapy waiting rooms. 2. Inform healthcare provider and administrative decision making regarding the content and utilization of digital displays. Method/Process: Ethics and institutional approvals were obtained prior to study commencement. Patients receiving radiation therapy treatment were invited to complete a paper based survey. Radiation therapists provided a paper copy of the survey to patients when they attended their radiation therapy treatment. Willing participants completed the survey in RT department waiting rooms. Completed surveys were returned to the reception desk in a sealed envelope. A survey consent disclosure preceded the survey questions. The survey was administered on three separate days
Conference Proceedings from RTi3 2017/Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences 48 (2017) S1-S22
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networking, free from traditional physical boundaries. Analysis of the first twelve months of #MedRadJclub demonstrates consistent participation and global reach, and is an accessible, interactive platform for discussion of research and practice in this field. The Twitter journal club is consistent with globalisation and internationalisation strategies amongst the medical radiation technology professions.
Peer-to-Peer Mentorship: An Unexpected Benefit of Journal Club Participation Julie Kanga, Tara Rosewallab and Winnie Liab a - Princess Margaret Cancer Centre b - Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto Purpose/Aim: The purpose of a Radiation Therapist-led Journal Club is to increase awareness of published research findings and enable participants to integrate relevant, evidence-based findings into their clinical practice. While Journal Club participation has many acknowledged benefits, it also has the unexpected benefit of fostering personal, professional and organizational growth through peer-to-peer mentorship. Method/Process: In a well-established, Radiation Therapist-led monthly Journal Club, novice participants were paired with more experienced members based on technical, clinical and research expertise. Prior to the session, the expert coached and mentored the novice to search, acquire, critique, and communicate the findings of a research paper, relating this directly to local clinical practice. A PowerPoint presentation was generated by both members, summarizing the article and providing a critical analysis of the article, as a method of leading a discussion. Results/Benefits/Challenges: During Journal Club-focused mentoring, the mentee can improve their research and communication skills, and increase their confidence when applying those skills and discussing areas of practice uncertainty with their peers. Simultaneously, the mentor develops and hones their preceptorship skills through the process of guiding the mentee to derive, discuss and disseminate research findings. This peer-to-peer mentorship experience also provides opportunities for self-reflection, for both the mentee and mentor within their technical, clinical and research practices. Increasing the number of Radiation Therapists with critical analysis skills also benefits the department as a whole, by producing a larger cohort of practitioners who are able to reflect upon and confidently discuss research findings as they relate it to clinical practice. Challenges associated with Journal Club mentorship include time constraints, and finding a good skills/personality match for the mentor and mentee. Conclusion/Impact/Outcomes: Journal Club participation develops Radiation Therapists’ ability to critically evaluate research and apply these findings to clinical practice. The peer-to-peer mentorship aspect of Journal Club produces a larger cohort of practitioners who are able to share and apply evidence-based practice principles.
Patient Perceptions of Digital Displays in Radiation Therapy Jill Sutherland, Gina Kowaski and Michelle Bennett CancerCare Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Purpose/Aim: The purpose of this study was to: 1. Explore patient perceptions about the design and content of digital displays used in Radiation Therapy waiting rooms. 2. Inform healthcare provider and administrative decision making regarding the content and utilization of digital displays. Method/Process: Ethics and institutional approvals were obtained prior to study commencement. Patients receiving radiation therapy treatment were invited to complete a paper based survey. Radiation therapists provided a paper copy of the survey to patients when they attended their radiation therapy treatment. Willing participants completed the survey in RT department waiting rooms. Completed surveys were returned to the reception desk in a sealed envelope. A survey consent disclosure preceded the survey questions. The survey was administered on three separate days
Conference Proceedings from RTi3 2017/Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences 48 (2017) S1-S22
S9