Oncology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Oncology, including details on cancer, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy.

Ontario radiation oncology residents' needs in the first postgraduate year-residents' perspective survey.

Szumacher E, Warner E, Zhang L, Kane G, Ackerman I, Nyhof-Young J, Agboola O, de Metz C, Rodrigues G, Voruganti S, Rappolt S

Department of Radiation Oncology, Toronto Regional Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Ewa.Szumacher@sunnybrook.ca

PURPOSE: To assess radiation oncology residents' needs and satisfaction in their first postgraduate year (PGY-1) in the province of Ontario. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Of 62 radiation oncology residents, 58 who had completed their PGY-1 and were either enrolled or had graduated in 2006 were invited to participate in a 31-item survey. The questionnaire explored PGY-1 residents' needs and satisfaction in four domains: clinical workload, faculty/learning environment, stress level, and discrimination/harassment. The Fisher's exact and Wilcoxon nonparametric tests were used to determine relationships between covariate items and summary scores. RESULTS: Of 58 eligible residents, 44 (75%) responded. Eighty-four percent of residents felt that their ward and call duties were appropriate. More than 50% of respondents indicated that they often felt isolated from their radiation oncology program. Only 77% agreed that they received adequate feedback, and 40% received sufficient counseling regarding career planning. More than 93% of respondents thought that faculty members had contributed significantly to their learning experience. Approximately 50% of residents experienced excessive stress and inadequate time for leisure or for reading the medical literature. Less than 10% of residents indicated that they had been harassed or experienced discrimination. Eighty-three percent agreed or strongly agreed that their PGY-1 experience had been outstanding. CONCLUSIONS: Most Ontario residents were satisfied with their PGY-1 training program. More counseling by radiation oncology faculty members should be offered to help residents with career planning. The residents might also benefit from more exposure to "radiation oncology" and an introduction to stress management strategies.

Published 17 September 2007 in Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 69(2): 512-7.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2005-2008 Oncology Research Today. All Rights Reserved.