Determining residents' concerns about staying up to date: Turkish Society for Radiation Oncology-Young Radiation Oncologists' cross-sectional national survey (TROD/GROG 007)

Abstract

PURPOSE This study aimed to identify the concerns and needs of radiation oncology residents in Turkey regarding their efforts to stay current with advancements in this highly competitive discipline.MATERIALS AND METHODSA cross-sectional anonymous survey of 20 questions was designed by the Turkish Society for Radiation Oncology (TROD)-Young Radiation Oncologists Group (GROG) and distributed to radiation oncology residents across Turkey. Data were collected and analyzed using descriptive analyses to identify common themes and specific needs and stratified according to junior and senior residents. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Statistics 21.0 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). RESULTS Sixty-four residents participated in the survey, with an overall response rate of 20%. The majority of participants, 55 (85.9%), had a regular training program in their clinic. However, only 28 (51%) felt that this program was sufficient to stay up to date. Consequently, almost all participants (98.4%) reported making individual efforts to stay current, with 87.3% encountering difficulties. Notably, junior residents experienced a higher rate of difficulty than senior residents did (93.1% v 70%, respectively). All the participants expressed the need for a new platform to easily access the results of significant new studies.CONCLUSIONThe traditional radiation oncology curriculum needs to be updated to include modern methods of obtaining information in the current Internet era. In addition, new platforms should be provided to residents for easier access to information. As TROD/GROG, we have planned to address this issue with the GROG News project. Further efforts should be made to develop solutions to alleviate residents' concerns.