A 5-Year, Multi-Institutional Mentorship Program in Radiation Oncology: The Society for Women in Radiation Oncology Experience

IF 6.5 1区医学 Q1 ONCOLOGY International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics Pub Date : 2025-03-15 Epub Date: 2024-10-22 DOI:10.1016/j.ijrobp.2024.10.027

Kristin Hsieh MD , Catherine Yu BA , Taylor J. Corriher MD, MBA , Sara Beltran Ponce MD , Katarina Nguyen MD , Winnifred Wong DO , Jennifer Croke MD, MHPE, FRCPC , Lisa A. Kachnic MD , Reshma Jagsi MD, DPhil , Crystal Seldon Taswell MD

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Abstract

Purpose

Mentorship in the field of radiation oncology (RO) promotes career development and satisfaction. Many individuals, however, do not have access to mentorship or are unsatisfied with their mentorship experience, potentially because of insufficient gender-concordant mentorship opportunities. To address this, the Society for Women in Radiation Oncology (SWRO) created the SWRO Mentorship Program for women, gender minorities, and those with intersecting marginalized identities at all stages of training for physicians and medical physicists. We present the 5-year experience of the largest multi-institutional mentorship program, to our knowledge, in RO.

Methods and Materials

Publicly available information and the SWRO mentorship sign-up forms were used. Descriptive statistics and binomial tests compared with reference points were conducted.

Results

Between January 2018 and June 2023, 296 individuals from 19 countries participated in the mentorship program, generating 225 mentee-mentor pairs. The majority were women (89.2%), based in the United States (US; 84.8%), and on the physician track (96.6%). The remainder of the analysis focused on US-based, physician-track participants (n = 244), the majority of whom were women (96.7%) and trainees (58.2%). Among those who have completed RO residency, most accepted a first job in academia (82.1%) and remained in academia at the time of the analysis (76.3%). A significantly higher proportion of SWRO mentorship participants compared with the reference point took a first job in academia (82.1% vs 58.3%; P < .0001). The most common disease sites of focus for the physician-track trainees who finished residency are breast (50.4%), central nervous system (32.7%), and gynecologic malignancies (30.1%), with 54% listing more than 1. The most commonly expressed goals of mentorship are research (35.8%), leadership (24.5%), and building connections within a specific geography or institution (19.2%).

Conclusions

The SWRO experience demonstrates the feasibility of a large-scale, multi-institutional mentorship program in RO.

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为期五年的放射肿瘤学多机构导师计划：放射肿瘤学妇女协会的经验：短标题：SWRO 导师计划。

背景：放射肿瘤学（RO）领域的导师制促进了职业发展和满意度。然而，许多人无法获得导师指导，或对导师指导体验不满意，这可能是由于没有足够的性别和谐导师指导机会。为了解决这个问题，放射肿瘤学妇女协会（SWRO）为妇女、性别少数群体以及那些在医生和医学物理学家培训的各个阶段具有交叉边缘化身份的人创建了SWRO导师计划。据我们所知，该计划是放射科最大的多机构导师计划：方法：使用公开信息和西南地区研究组织导师报名表。结果：在 2018 年 1 月至 2023 年 6 月期间，该计划的参与人数达到了 1.5 亿人：在 2018 年 1 月至 2023 年 6 月期间，来自 19 个国家的 296 人参加了导师计划，产生了 225 对导师。其中大部分为女性（89.2%）、美国人（84.8%）和医生（96.6%）。分析的其余部分主要集中在美国的医生培训参与者（n = 244），其中大多数为女性（96.7%）和实习生（58.2%）。在完成 RO 实习的学员中，大多数人接受了学术界的第一份工作（82.1%），并且在分析时仍留在学术界（76.3%）。与参照点相比，接受第一份学术工作的 SWRO 导师参与者比例明显更高（82.1% 对 58.3%；P 结论：西南地区研究组织的经验证明了在研究组织中开展大规模、多机构导师计划的可行性。

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来源期刊

International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics 医学-核医学

CiteScore

11.00

自引率

7.10%

发文量

2538

审稿时长

6.6 weeks

期刊介绍： International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (IJROBP), known in the field as the Red Journal, publishes original laboratory and clinical investigations related to radiation oncology, radiation biology, medical physics, and both education and health policy as it relates to the field. This journal has a particular interest in original contributions of the following types: prospective clinical trials, outcomes research, and large database interrogation. In addition, it seeks reports of high-impact innovations in single or combined modality treatment, tumor sensitization, normal tissue protection (including both precision avoidance and pharmacologic means), brachytherapy, particle irradiation, and cancer imaging. Technical advances related to dosimetry and conformal radiation treatment planning are of interest, as are basic science studies investigating tumor physiology and the molecular biology underlying cancer and normal tissue radiation response.