ISRRT_COVID-19_book

Radiation therapy educators’ perspective: Adapting to the changing
clinical practice environment during a pandemic
Krista Dawdy and Renate Bradley
Introduction
The pandemic has changed the way that education has been delivered for health care
practitioner (HCP) learners as they work towards meeting the competency standard of their
Program. The changes have been dynamic and continue to occur, most visibly in the clinical
environment where hands-on interactions are required with learners, educators and patients.
As the learners moved from the academic world into the authentic practice environment,
they have had to continually modify their approach to meeting the challenging demands of
their Programs and the restrictions of current healthcare practices due to the pandemic. The
challenges were multiple and grounded in the physical as well as teaching and learning
abilities. The challenges included perspectives on the adaptations to clinical supervision and
the facilitation of learning within the restrictions while bearing in mind the learning that was
meant to occur. This chapter will reflect on our experiences, lessons learnt, strategies used to
support learning and on the outcomes.
The Michener Institute of Education at the UHN and the University of Toronto Medical
Radiation Sciences (MRS) is a jointly administered three (3) year degree Program, inclusive of
didactic and clinical preparation. One of the disciplines under the MRS umbrella is Radiation
Therapy, where the learners complete their Program in the real-life practice environment
interacting with cancer patients, educators, and other professionals. The clinical aspect
includes an eight (8) week introduction to radiation therapy in the first year, a four (4) week
transition to clinic in second year, and the third year comprises of a thirty (30) week final
practicum where students are able to demonstrate the published Program outcomes in order
to graduate and be eligible to write the Canadian national certification examination. The
Program outcomes are a list of broad expectations of the MRS graduates that are publicly
available. Traditionally, during their clinical practicum the learners spend a 7.5-hour day, 5
days per week under direct supervision in the radiation therapy department at clinical sites
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