An Antidote to Decreasing Interest in Radiation Oncology: Earlier Engagement.

Purpose: In recent years, there has been a national decline in applicants to radiation oncology (RO) residencies, partly due to limited exposure to RO during medical school. Student Interest Groups (SIGs) give students early exposure to a variety of specialties. This study investigates the efficacy of a RO-SIG to increase knowledge and interest in the field.

Methodology: First and second-year medical students attending an RO-SIG event or shadowing experience completed surveys both prior and following participation. Students ranked their interest in oncology, in RO, and their perceived accessibility of mentors in oncology. Questions were rated on a Likert scale from 0 to 5 (5 highest, 0 lowest). The survey included one short response question about the understanding of the role of the RO, which was evaluated qualitatively.

Results: 44 students (42 M1s, 2 M2s) completed the pre-survey and 18 (41%, 17 M1s, 1 M2) completed the post-survey. Of the 18 matched responses, interest in oncology increased from 3.67 pre-SIG to 3.89 (p = 0.19) and in RO specifically from 3.17 to 3.89 (p < 0.01). The mean perceived accessibility of faculty mentors in oncology increased from 3.18 to 3.72 (p < 0.01). After interacting with the RO-SIG, the short response answers were more detailed in the understanding of the role of RO.

Conclusions: RO-SIGs can increase interest in RO through early exposure to the field. In a time where RO has seen a decline in student interest, RO-SIGs are an option to increase engagement, develop interest, and form relationships with mentors in pre-clinical years.