Author: Victoria Susan Ainsworth, Stephen M. Avery, Serhii Brovchuk, Thomas Brown, Sean A. Dresser, Matthew D. Goss, Viktor M. Iakovenko, Kelly Kisling, Nataliya Kovalchuk, Robert F. Krauss, Wilfred F. Ngwa, Jatinder R. Palta, Julie A. Raffi, Peter Allan Sandwall, Natalka Suchowerska, William Swanson, Shada J. Wadi-Ramahi, Ruslan Zelinskyi 👨🔬
Affiliation: Allegheny Hospital, Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Stanford University, O.O. Shalimov National Institute of Surgery and Transplantology, Department of Radiation Oncology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, School of Physics, The University of Sydney, MaineHealth, University of California, San Diego, Duke University, Emory University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Medical Physics Department, Medical center of Yuriy Spizhenko, OhioHealth, University of Massachusetts Lowell, St. Francis Hospital 🌍
Purpose: The AAPM International Council, in collaboration with Help Ukraine Group (HUG) and Ukrainian Association of Medical Physicists (UAMP), developed a novel hybrid year-long training course to assist Ukrainian medical physicists in transitioning from Co-60 to IMRT during the war.
Methods: To achieve this, members from AAPM’s Global Needs Assessment Committee (GNAC), Global Medical Physics Education and Training Committee (GMPETC), Global Clinical Education and Training Committee (GCETC), Clinical Education Working Group (CEWG), HUG, and UAMP conducted a needs assessment survey to create a comprehensive curriculum. The course was divided into three parts: foundational knowledge and linear accelerator commissioning (Part 1), treatment planning and QA program development (Part 2), and practical sessions on linear accelerator commissioning, QA, and treatment planning (Part 3). Part 1 and 2 featured 50 1.5-2 hr virtual lectures, with pre- and post-lecture assignments, delivered online with interactive questions, and AI-driven synchronous subtitling in Ukrainian, while Part 3 included four three-day practical sessions in Ukrainian at two clinical sites using equipment from two different vendors.
Results: A total of 131 medical physicists and students enrolled in Part 1and 2, including all practicing medical physicists in Ukraine. Participants had diverse educational and clinical backgrounds. Part 1 and Part 2 lectures were endorsed by AAPM and accredited by CAMPEP. Average exam scores increased from 51.2% to 82.5% (Part 1) and 53.3% to 89.4% (Part 2). Satisfaction scores averaged 9.3±0.9 out of 10, with 96.3% recommending the course and 70% claiming changing practices. Practical sessions (Part 3) involved 62 participants, with exam scores improving from 57.8% to 80.5%. Average satisfaction for Part 3 was 9.8±0.7 out of 10.
Conclusion: This collaborative training initiative demonstrates a concerted effort to support, educate, and expand medical physics community in Ukraine during wartime. It can serve as a model for similar initiatives in other LMICs/UMICs.