Radiation Therapist Education and Training: An International Survey.

Purpose: This study reports on the current status of Radiation Therapist (RTT) education and training globally. RTTs are the health professionals responsible for the preparation and delivery of courses of radiation therapy, the latter being indicated in the management of 50%-60% of patients with cancer globally. Therefore, high standards of education of these professionals are paramount to safe and high-quality cancer care.

Best practice in radiation oncology: A project to train the trainers: Review of 2008-2023.

The European Society of Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) project on 'best practice in radiation oncology: a project to train the radiation therapist trainers' commenced in 2008. The aim of the project was to influence education programmes throughout, mainly, eastern Europe to increase the radiation therapy-specific education of their programmes. This is to enable graduates of these programmes to be radiation therapists that are fit for purpose in the clinic.

Optimising hypoxia PET imaging and its applications in guiding targeted radiation therapy for non-small cell lung cancer: a scoping review.

Introduction: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death. Definitive treatment includes chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Tumour hypoxia impacts the efficacy of these treatment modalities.

Exploring preparedness transitions in medicine and pharmacy: a qualitative longitudinal study to inform multiprofessional learning opportunities.

Despite extensive preparedness literature, existing studies fail to adequately explore healthcare graduates' feelings of preparedness longitudinally across new graduate transition journeys, nor do they compare different healthcare professions to ascertain what opportunities exist for multiprofessional transition interventions. Therefore, this Australian study, underpinned by temporal theory, explores the preparedness transitions of medicine and pharmacy graduates. Our 6-month qualitative longitudinal study involved 12 medicine and 7 pharmacy learners after purposive sampling.

Prevention of osteoradionecrosis in patients with head and neck cancer treated with radiation therapy.

Background: Osteoradionecrosis is a long-term, serious side effect of head and neck radiation therapy and is associated with significant morbidity and quality of life issues.

Methods: This paper sought to determine consensus on the prevention and management of osteoradionecrosis by an international panel of multidisciplinary professionals expert in the management of patients with head and neck cancer using a Delphi methodology. Unique to this work is our direct inclusion of the views of patients and carers in our findings.

What do we know about dietary perceptions and beliefs of patients with rheumatoid arthritis? A scoping review.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating inflammatory condition which has a high disease burden. While there is emerging evidence that certain foods and diets could have anti-inflammatory properties and there are published 'anti-inflammatory' diets, there is very little understanding of patient beliefs and perceptions about the impact of diet on symptom management or attitudes to particular dietary interventions. This scoping review aims to summarize the existing literature around the beliefs that patients with rheumatoid arthritis hold regarding the impact of diet on disease activity and joint pain.

The Radiation Therapist profession through the lens of new technology: A practice development paper based on the ESTRO Radiation Therapist Workshops.

Technological advances in radiation therapy impact on the role and scope of practice of the radiation therapist. The European Society of Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) recently held two workshops on this topic and this position paper reflects the outcome of this workshop, which included radiation therapists from all global regions. Workflows, quality assurance, research, IGRT and ART as well as clinical decision making are the areas of radiation therapist practice that will be highly influenced by advancing technology in the near future.

Factors influencing decision-making processes for intensive care therapy goals: A systematic integrative review.

Background: Delivering intensive care therapies concordant with patients' values and preferences is considered gold standard care. To achieve this, healthcare professionals must better understand decision-making processes and factors influencing them.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore factors influencing decision-making processes about implementing and limiting intensive care therapies.

Established advanced practice roles in radiation therapy: A scoping review.

Advanced practitioners are healthcare professionals that are highly skilled with a particular area of expertise. These roles have been successfully implemented in many healthcare settings, improving efficiency of the service, as well as enhancing the standard of care received by patients. Although advanced practice roles have been implemented in some radiation therapy departments, their implementation have yet to be facilitated in the majority of countries.

SMART-SLE: serology monitoring and repeat testing in systemic lupus erythematosus-an analysis of anti-double-stranded DNA monitoring.

Objective: Disease activity monitoring in SLE includes serial measurement of anti-double stranded-DNA (dsDNA) antibodies, but in patients who are persistently anti-dsDNA positive, the utility of repeated measurement is unclear. We investigated the usefulness of serial anti-dsDNA testing in predicting flare in SLE patients who are persistently anti-dsDNA positive.

Methods: Data were analysed from patients in a multinational longitudinal cohort with known anti-dsDNA results from 2013 to 2021.

A systematic literature review of definitions and classification systems for radiotherapy innovation: A first step towards building a value-based assessment tool for radiation oncology.

Introduction: Timely access to radiotherapy innovations remains suboptimal, partly because there is no commonly agreed appraisal system suitable for the broad range of radiotherapy interventions. The Health Economics in Radiation Oncology (HERO) programme of ESTRO therefore engaged in building a radiotherapy-specific value-based framework. We report on a first step towards that aim, documenting the available definitions and classification systems for radiotherapy interventions.

Exploring Hypoxia in Prostate Cancer With T2-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging Radiomics and Pimonidazole Scoring.

Background/aim: Radiomics involves high throughput extraction of mineable precise quantitative imaging features that serve as non-invasive prognostic or predictive biomarkers. High levels of hypoxia are associated with a poorer prognosis in prostate cancer and limit radiation therapy efficacy. Most patients with prostate cancer undergo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a part of their diagnostics, and T2 imaging is the most utilised imaging method.

A new wave of leaders: Early evaluation of the interdisciplinary Foundations of Leadership in Radiation Oncology (FLiRO) program.

Purpose: Effective leadership across all areas of radiation oncology (RO) is vital to fully realise the benefits of radiation therapy in cancer care. We report outcomes of a novel interdisciplinary leadership program designed for RO professionals under a global joint society initiative.

Methods: The Foundations of Leadership in RO (FLiRO) program was designed for aspiring RO leaders.

Exploring radiation therapist education and training.

Radiation therapy has become increasingly complex over time and is rapidly evolving. Radiation therapists play a key role within the interdisciplinary team and their education must prepare them to function effectively in the future in order to ensure a safe, high quality radiation therapy service. The aim of this research was to evaluate the current status of radiation therapist education to establish the duration of education programs, the percentage of radiation therapy-specific content and the professional title on graduation.

Utility of repeat extractable nuclear antigen antibody testing: a retrospective audit.

Objectives: Autoantibodies to ENA are frequently ordered during the workup of suspected autoimmune connective tissue diseases. There are no current guidelines for repeat test ordering. The objective of this study was to assess the utility of repeat ENA testing after an initial negative result.

Frequency and Clinical Utility of Antibodies to Extractable Nuclear Antigen in the Setting of a Negative Antinuclear Antibody Test.

Objective: Simultaneous antibody testing during screening for autoimmune conditions is discouraged. The incidence of positive extractable nuclear antigen (ENA) in the setting of a negative antinuclear antibody (ANA) has been reported as low. Our objective was to characterize the frequency of diagnosis of new ANA-associated rheumatic disease (AARD) in the setting of a negative ANA with a positive ENA.

Exploring the impact of metabolic imaging in head and neck cancer treatment.

Background: Target volume delineation is performed with anatomical imaging for head and neck cancer. Molecular imaging allows the recognition of specific tumor regions. Its inclusion in the pathway could lead to changes in delineation and resultant treatment plans.

Feasibility of surface guided radiotherapy for patient positioning in breast radiotherapy versus conventional tattoo-based setups- a systematic review.

Background: Traditionally tattoos are used for patient setup in radiotherapy. However they may pose challenges for the radiotherapists to achieve precise patient alignment, and serve as a permanent visual reminder of the patient's diagnosis and often challenging cancer journey. The psychological impact of tattoos has been recognized in recent years.

- Medical students' experiences of interrupted academic progression.

Introduction: There is limited published research on medical students' perspectives of a significant interruption to their academic progression. This study sought to identify the factors that contribute to difficulties with academic progression and to understand how medical students successfully respond.

Methods: This interpretive phenomenological study reports on the findings from in-depth interviews of 38 final year medical students who had experienced a significant academic interruption.

Outlook of women in science: an interview with our authors.

Diversity in research teams ties alternative perspectives into research projects, and this can fast-forward scientific progress. Concerted efforts have been aimed at encouraging and supporting women to pursue a career in science, yet a gender disparity can still be observed at senior positions, with fewer women in leadership roles. To get insight into how the current landscape for women in science is perceived by different career stages, we interviewed female authors of Molecular Oncology from diverse career stages and disciplines about their inspiration, challenges they have faced as scientists as well as their thoughts on how gender diversity can be further enhanced.

Understanding Health Care Graduates' Conceptualizations of Transitions: A Longitudinal Qualitative Research Study.

Purpose: Although transitions have been defined in various ways in the higher education literature (e.g., inculcation, development, becoming), little research exists exploring health care learners' conceptualizations of transitions across their transition from final year to new graduate.

Evaluation of an eLearning teaching innovation to assist clinical radiation therapy educators in the provision of student feedback.

Background: Clinical placement is an integral part of the Radiation Therapy undergraduate programme. Feedback and formative assessment during clinical placement are regarded as key to developing clinical skills and competencies. Students regularly report dissatisfaction with the feedback process while clinical educators report heavy clinical workloads and a lack of guidance on feedback mechanisms as barriers to providing meaningful student feedback.