An Antidote to Decreasing Interest in Rad Onc: Earlier Engagement

Summary: Purpose: In recent years, there has been a national decline in applicants to radiation oncology (RO) residencies, which is partly a result of limited exposure to RO during medical school1, 2. Student Interest Groups (SIGs) give students early exposure to a variety of specialties. We recently remodeled our RO-SIG with the goal of increasing engagement and accessibility of oncology mentorship through clinical shadowing opportunities and group events. We surveyed first and second-year medical students attending one of four-panel discussions, both prior to engaging with our SIG and following the event. These surveys asked students to rank their interest in oncology, in RO specifically, and their perceived accessibility of mentors in oncology. These questions were rated on a Likert scale from 0-5 (5 highest, 0 lowest). The survey included one short response question, “what is your understanding of the role of the RO?” which was evaluated qualitatively. Additionally, we also offered all students registered to the RO-SIG an opportunity to shadow in the RO clinic. These students were surveyed before and after the shadowing experience with the same questions. The results were tabulated and matched responses were compared. 41 students (39 M1s, 2 M2s) completed the pre-survey and 17 (41%, 16 M1s, 1 M2) completed the follow-up survey. Of the 17 matched responses, the interest in oncology increased from 3.71 pre-SIG to 3.94 (p=0.19) and in RO specifically from 3.17 to 3.88 (p<0.01). The mean perceived accessibility of faculty mentors in oncology increased from 3.18 to 3.71 (p=0.07). Prior to interacting with the RO-SIG, 4/17 students did not know anything about RO, 9 said ROs “use radiation to treat cancers,” and 4 said they “work in a team of oncologists.” After the event, the answers were more detailed in the understanding of the ROs “long-term relationships with patients'' and “ability to both cure and palliate cancer patients.” The shadowing experience is longitudinal throughout the ‘23-24 academic year and updated results will be available in March. Initial responses are positive with many students asking to return for multiple sessions. RO-SIGs can increase interest in oncology and even more so in RO through early exposure to the field2. Medical students enjoy the opportunity to gain early exposure to this specialty and benefit from connecting with mentors. In a time where radiation oncology has seen a decline in medical student interest, RO-SIGs are an option to increase engagement, develop interest, and form relationships with mentors in pre-clinical years.