Course Director: Manisha Palta, MD
This is an elective concentration on GI radiation oncology planning and delivery techniques to be completed over the course of 3-6 months during the Scholarly Activities year. Extensions may be granted at the Course Director's discretion to complete requirements.
The concentration will consist of two primary components:
- Participating in the planning and treatment GI radiation oncology cases in the Duke Health System
- Completion of a GI oncology oriented scholarly project
It is not designed to occupy participant's entire work during that time, and concurrent scholarly work as part of the entire year is allowed/expected.
GI Radiation Oncology Planning and Treatment Requirements
Participants will keep a log of all cases attended with MRN and Case type (independent of the ACGME case logs). Multiple plans for the same patient may count to the goal if the case involves a new plan. Cases may be shared with the GI radiation oncology resident on service. The experience will be tailored to the resident's preferences based on case availability to be upper GI (esophagus/stomach), hepato-pancreatico/biliary (HPB) or lower GI (anorectal).
- Planning: 15 Cases
- Image-guidance: 15 treatments
Scholarly Project
Participants will work the faculty to identify a project and mentor. They will meet with the course director to confirm suitability for fulfilling the requirement. This project may involve any of the following aspects of GI practice.
- Clinical research (prospective or retrospective)
- Heath Services research (including access/disparity research, practice patterns, environmental impacts or intersection with other determinants of health)
- Physics research (including planning/treatment, image analysis/radiomics or applicator-based research)
- Education research (development of training phantoms/programs)
- International research (including training programs, access and novel applications for resource limited settings)
The resident will meet regularly with the course director for updates on progress. The project should be presented/discussed at GI rad onc research meetings which will occur monthly with the faculty. The resident will be expected to make significant progress during the term of the concentration, though final completion may be extended through the remainder of their residency for data collection, analysis and preparation of a manuscript for publication. A completed manuscript suitable for publication or similar work will be a requirement for the successful completion of the concentration, as judged by the course director.
