Gamification of Clinical Decision-Making for Medical Physics Residents
Abstract
Purpose
For medical physics residents, clinical decision-making can be a difficult skill to teach and master – most residents come from academic graduate programs with limited clinical exposure, and the regulatory nature of radiation oncology leads to limited opportunities for independent practice. The purpose of this project was to incorporate clinical reasoning practice into a lecture series and to evaluate it based on residents scores.
Methods
To this end, we have created a “Choose Your Own Adventure” case study-based gamified lecture series. This series allows residents to have a safe space to practice making clinical decisions and explore potential outcomes. The residents are given an initial clinical scenario, three options of what could be done next, and asked to choose how they would proceed. The situation then evolves based on the choice that was made. After the “completion” of a scenario, there is a guided discussion, focusing on endpoints different choices might have led to. Finally, the group debriefs and walks through what might have happened in similar live clinical situations.
Results
We have piloted a discussion series on clinical decision-making in radiotherapy simulation and delivery for the past three years. This has been well received by both junior and senior medical physics residents, receiving a rating of 5 out of 5 for Format, Topic, and Content (n=4) in post-session surveys.
Conclusion
We intend to expand this concept to other medical physics clinical duties including Treatment Planning, Patient and Machine Quality Assurance, and Special Procedures. A challenge of this approach is developing comprehensive multi-decision scenarios within the clinical context. We are investigating the possibility of using large language models, with output validated by clinicians, to assist with scenario generation and branching narrative development, and getting senior residents involved in scenario creation as an educational opportunity.