Quality of teaching radiation oncology in Germany—where do we stand?

Abstract

Abstract Purpose Medical students’ knowledge of radiation oncology (RO) is of increasing importance with a rising prevalence of malignancies. However, RO teaching in medical schools is heterogeneous and has not been analyzed at a federal level yet. Therefore, the following survey aims to provide a national overview of RO teaching in Germany. Methods A questionnaire containing multiple-choice and free-text questions covering the extent and topics of RO teaching was sent to RO departments of all university hospitals in Germany and was answered by the heads of department/main lecturers. Results 24/35 (68.6%) RO departments returned completed forms. Most faculties employ lectures (91.7%), seminars (87.5%), and practical/bedside training (75.0%), whereas training in radiation biology and medical physics are rare (25% and 33.3%, respectively). Main topics covered are general RO (100%), radiation biology (91.7%), and side effects (87.5%). Regarding RO techniques and concepts, image-guided and intensity-modulated radiotherapy are taught at all faculties, followed by palliative and stereotactic techniques (87.5% each). Notably, all departments offered at least a partial rotation in RO in conjunction with radiology and/or nuclear medicine departments in the last year of medical school, while only 70.8% provided a complete rotation in RO. In addition, 57.1% of the departments have taken measures concerning the upcoming National Competence-Based Learning Objectives Catalogue (NKLM) for medical education. Conclusion RO plays an integral but underrepresented role in clinical medical education in Germany, but faces new challenges in the development of practical and competence-based education, which will require further innovative and interdisciplinary concepts.