Publications by authors named "Lauren C Linkowski"
Article Synopsis
- The USMLE is a crucial exam for allopathic physicians in the US, with its content developed by the NBME, but the specialties of the taskforce members contributing to the exam have not been well-documented.
- An analysis of the 2021 USMLE and NBME taskforce revealed significant differences in the primary specialties of test writers compared to the overall population of active physicians in the US, with only nineteen specialties represented among USMLE writers.
- Internal Medicine was the most represented specialty among USMLE test writers, highlighting a potential imbalance that could affect the fairness and comprehensiveness of the exam content, suggesting the need for further research.
Article Synopsis
- Radiation therapy (RT) plays a vital role in cancer treatment but is not well represented in medical exams, leading to inconsistent training for future doctors.
- An analysis of nearly 4,000 questions from medical licensing exams revealed that only 8.6% focused on oncology, with just 2.6% addressing specific treatment modalities, including RT.
- The study found that RT questions were significantly less frequently correct compared to systemic therapy (ST) and surgical intervention (SI), suggesting a need for increased emphasis on radiation oncology in medical education.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the impact of second look events (SLEs) for applicants in the 2023 Virtual Radiation Oncology residency match, assessing how they affect applicant and program evaluations.
- A survey of applicants and program directors revealed that while many applicants were invited to SLEs, a significant number chose not to attend due to various reasons, including cost and logistics.
- Program directors largely viewed SLEs as optional and assured applicants that participation would not impact their ranking decisions, though attending SLEs did appear to influence candidates' final rank order lists.
Purpose: Bladder preservation with trimodal therapy (TMT; maximal tumor resection followed by chemoradiation) is an effective paradigm for select patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer. We report our institutional experience of a TMT protocol using nonadaptive magnetic resonance imaging-guided radiation therapy (MRgRT) for partial bladder boost (PBB).
Methods And Materials: A retrospective analysis was performed on consecutive patients with nonmetastatic muscle invasive bladder cancer who were treated with TMT using MRgRT between 2019 and 2022.
MRI-guided radiation therapy (MRgRT) enables real-time imaging during treatment and daily online adaptive planning. It is particularly useful for areas of treatment that have been previously excluded or restricted from ablative doses due to potential damage to adjacent normal tissue. In certain cases, ablative doses to metastatic lesions may be justified and treated with MRgRT using video-assisted gated breath-hold adjustments throughout delivery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFShelter-in-place orders enacted during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic were impossible to abide by for some persons without shelter in Tampa, Florida. This narrative considers themes of community, public health, and material conditions of humanity and dignity in a photographic investigation of life among persons for whom the prevailing adage "safer at home" did not apply.
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