Course Description
Students gain clinical experience in simulation patient set-ups and imaging studies. There will be an introduction to quality assurance and safety in the clinical environment, anatomical contour segmentation, and computers and networking within the radiation oncology field. Students will begin basic calculations and treatment planning and may be introduced to brachytherapy procedures.
Assessments & Activities
Students were assessed and graded on their performance and participation in clinical labs, competencies, service learning project, clinical evaluations, contouring, and e-portfolio contributions.
Clinical Labs
Students were assigned 2 clinical lab projects with the purpose of familiarizing the student with the treatment planning systems and basic planning techniques. One lab focused on lung panning and the other on planning for the pelvis. Please follow the links below to view my clinical labs. Lung Clinical Lab Pelvis Clinical Lab Competencies Students are required to complete a total of 17 competencies throughout the program. This semester, completion of 4 competencies was mandatory. Please follow the links below to view this semester's completed competencies. Limb Sarcoma Lymphoma Palliative (spine, hip, ribs, etc.) Retreat avoiding or matching old port Case Logs Throughout this course, students recorded the different activities they observed, assisted with, or performed, allowing reflection on areas of experience and areas the student needs be exposed to more. Please follow the link below to view the summary of my case logs competed this semester. Clinical Practicum I Case Logs |
Contouring
Using the ProKnow program, we were scored on the accuracy of our contour of the left parotid gland. Please follow the link below to view my score and certificate for the left parotid gland contour. Left Parotid Gland Contour Service Learning Project Students must fulfill the service learning requirement by volunteering their time in all 3 categories, which include community, professional, and employer before the end of the program. This semester, I completed an employer service learning project. Please follow the link below to view my service learning project. Employer Service Learning Project Clinical Evaluations The clinical preceptor at the internship site completed an evaluation of the student's performance 3 times, throughout this course. Please follow the link below to view my clinical evaluations. Clinical Practicum I Evaluations |
Self Reflection
At the completion of every course students are asked to reflect on a series of questions that focused on their knowledge gained, skills, areas of opportunity, and overall thoughts about the course.
The new knowledge and skills I gained during this clinical semester were....
I first began planning very simple AP/PA palliative spine, hip, and whole brain cases and then moved on to planning more complex 3D treatment plans. After completing several different types of plans, I feel like I have learned many different tools to design an optimal plan, including wedges, segments, weighting, and normalization.
Skills I hope to learn more about and use next semester are....
In the last few weeks of the semester, I have begun planning VMAT and IMRT plans. I would like to continue to focus on these techniques so that can get to a point where I am completely comfortable and confident planning them for any site of the body.
What I enjoyed most about this clinical rotation....
I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to learn from all the dosimetrists, physicists, physicians, and staff at UW Hospital and Clinics. I also really enjoyed gaining experience planning on multiple different treatment planning systems and planning for a large variety of patients.
What I struggled with the most throughout this clinical rotation and how I plan to work on it....
We use MIM Vista software to complete fusions, dose accumulations of previous and current treatment plans, and contouring. Although I am able to accomplish very basic tasks in MIM, I struggle with the more complex aspects. Although I know that my confidence with using this software will increase with time, I plan on asking to be responsible for completing tasks using MIM as much as possible to master all the different tools available in MIM.
Other reflective thoughts...
This clinical rotation was very challenging, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. Although I have completed relatively short dosimetry rotations, being fully immersed in and enjoying being part of the radiation oncology department has validated my decision to become a medical dosimetrist.
The new knowledge and skills I gained during this clinical semester were....
I first began planning very simple AP/PA palliative spine, hip, and whole brain cases and then moved on to planning more complex 3D treatment plans. After completing several different types of plans, I feel like I have learned many different tools to design an optimal plan, including wedges, segments, weighting, and normalization.
Skills I hope to learn more about and use next semester are....
In the last few weeks of the semester, I have begun planning VMAT and IMRT plans. I would like to continue to focus on these techniques so that can get to a point where I am completely comfortable and confident planning them for any site of the body.
What I enjoyed most about this clinical rotation....
I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to learn from all the dosimetrists, physicists, physicians, and staff at UW Hospital and Clinics. I also really enjoyed gaining experience planning on multiple different treatment planning systems and planning for a large variety of patients.
What I struggled with the most throughout this clinical rotation and how I plan to work on it....
We use MIM Vista software to complete fusions, dose accumulations of previous and current treatment plans, and contouring. Although I am able to accomplish very basic tasks in MIM, I struggle with the more complex aspects. Although I know that my confidence with using this software will increase with time, I plan on asking to be responsible for completing tasks using MIM as much as possible to master all the different tools available in MIM.
Other reflective thoughts...
This clinical rotation was very challenging, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. Although I have completed relatively short dosimetry rotations, being fully immersed in and enjoying being part of the radiation oncology department has validated my decision to become a medical dosimetrist.