National Radiation Oncology Survey on Palliative Care Education in Radiation Oncology Training

Publication date: Available online 14 March 2017
Source:Practical Radiation Oncology
Author(s): Monica Krishnan, Margarita Racsa, Joshua Jones, Eva Chittenden, Kristen G. Schaefer, Alex Spektor, Andrea Enzinger, Randy Wei, Tracy Balboni
PurposeWhile palliative care is recognized as integral to oncology care, limited data exists regarding the extent to which palliative care training is incorporated into radiation oncology residency training in the United States (US). We aim to characterize US radiation oncology residents' perceived palliative care educational needs and experience to guide future palliative oncology educational interventions.MethodsAn 8-person expert panel developed a survey to assess resident perceptions of generalist palliative care education within radiation oncology residency. Domains of palliative oncology education, derived from national guidelines, included: symptom management (pain and non-pain), communication about goals of care, advance care planning, psychosocial issues, cultural considerations, spiritual needs, care coordination, and ethical/legal issues. Residents rated adequacy of their training and their perceived competency in each domain. A total of 433U.S. radiation oncology residents were identified for participation; 404 completed the survey (response rate=93%).ResultsResidents characterized themselves as "not at all/minimally/somewhat confident" in their ability to take care of patients with palliative care issues in the following domains: symptom management (36% pain, 44% non-pain), communication about goals of care (31%), advance care planning (48%), psychosocial (55%), cultural (22%), spiritual (44%), care coordination (50%), and ethical/legal (50%).On average, 79% of residents rated their training as "not/minimally/somewhat" adequate across all domains. Most (96%) view palliative care as an important competency within radiation oncology and 81% desire more palliative care education.ConclusionAlthough the majority of residents view palliative care as an important competency for radiation oncologists, a majority perceived their educational training as inadequate across multiple domains. Most residents desire further palliative oncology care training. These findings suggest efforts should be made to improve palliative care education during radiation oncology training.



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