ABSTRACT
The ESTRO vision statement for 2030 is “Radiation Oncology. Optimal Health for All, Together”. It is becoming increasingly clear that optimal health for all should include the health of caregivers, too. This is exemplified by the high level of burnout amongst radiation oncology professionals across the disciplines, as published recently by Franco et al. (1) Sadly, the COVID pandemic has had a negative impact on mental health of these professionals. (2) The young ESTRO committee (yESTRO) has aligned its activities to the ESTRO vision by setting up an ESTRO mentoring program in order to increase professional well-being for its young members. Mentorship benefits both mentor and the mentee. A review on mentorship in the medical field reported it to have an ‘important influence on personal development, career guidance, career choice, and research productivity, including publication and grant success’. (3) For mentors the benefits lie in enhancement of knowledge, leadership skills, educational skills and increased job satisfaction. With the yESTRO mentoring pilot program, yESTRO specifically aims to satisfy unmet needs for mentorship among young ESTRO members. Fifteen young members were selected as mentees based on their curriculum and personal motivation. The program had its official kickoff at ESTRO 2021 in Madrid with an onsite and an online speed dating session between mentors and mentees. Matches were made and mentor-mentee couples committed to meet at least every three months for the duration of one year. We will present the mid-term evaluation of the pilot at ESTRO 2022. The final evaluation takes place one year after the program started, after which it will be decided whether the program will continue. Yet the ambition of yESTRO is larger. This session will also provide practical advice for those considering to set up a mentoring program at their own institute. Or those seeking a mentor. In this ambition, we will be helped by the experiences shared by Daniel Portik, one of the mentees in the yESTRO mentoring program pilot.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed changes in radiotherapy (RT) departments worldwide. Medical physicists (MPs) are key healthcare professionals in maintaining safe and effective RT. This study reports the results of a survey on changes in departmental and clinical practice and on the impact for the future, which was sent to the global MP community. The impact of COVID-19 was bigger in countries with high daily infection rate. The majority of MPs worked in alternation home/on-site. Among practice changes, implementation and/or increased use of hypofractionation was the most common. Some respondents reduced patient-specific quality assurance (QA), reduced machine QA, or moved machine QA to weekends/evenings. Changes such as home-working and increased use of hypofractionation were welcomed. Yet some MPs were concerned about pressure to keep negative changes (e.g. weekend work). COVID-19 affected MPs through changes in practice and QA procedures but also in terms of trust in leadership and team unity. Some changes were welcomed but others caused concern for the future. This data forms the basis, from a medical physics perspective, for the evaluation of long-lasting changes within a multi-disciplinary setting.