GP Oncology Education Evenings
What is the purpose of the GP evenings?
GP education evenings are designed to provide GPs with a face-to-face opportunity to learn about radiation oncology from health care professionals in a centre close to them. They are held within a radiation therapy department for GPs within the local catchment area.
The first GP evening was held in October 2014 at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, there have since been many GP evenings held in more than 30 departments across Australia and New Zealand. Hundreds of GPs have improved their knowledge of the aims, practicalities and the positive impact modern radiation therapy, also called radiotherapy, has had on patient reported outcomes.
What is the program for the GP evenings?
The program comprises of a presentation delivered by a radiation oncologist, covering the basic principles of radiation therapy followed by 2 clinical cases. The first case is about the indications and benefits of palliative radiation therapy for painful bone metastases and the second case focuses on modern radiation therapy as an effective and well tolerated treatment option for localised prostate cancer.
There is also a guided physical tour of the radiation treatment machines with demonstrations (sometimes live) of set up and treatment, the CT simulator, mould room, a ‘show and tell’ of selected radiation therapy equipment and a ‘walk through’ of a typical patient pathway through the department.
How can GPs benefit?
Attendees learn about the indications, technology and practicalities of modern radiation therapy. Personalised departmental tours are conducted in conjunction with interactive case-based learning modules which enhance the experience giving GPs (and other health professionals) a unique look at how radiation therapy is safely administered nowadays with millimetre precision.
GPs attending the education evenings have given overwhelmingly positive feedback about the quality and usefulness of the session. 100% of all GPs felt the session significantly improved their understanding of RT and would recommend the session to their colleagues.
Some feedback from GPs include:
“An excellent evening! I learnt a huge amount”
“Thank you for an excellent education evening, fantastic!”
“GPs really benefit from updates like these. Definitely more education is needed”
If you would like to host a GP Oncology Education Evening please contact faculty@ranzcr.edu.au
Other resources available for GPs through Targeting Cancer
Targeting Cancer has a put together a virtual GP education evening video to allow the busy GP to enhance their knowledge about modern radiation therapy. The videos focus on the role of radiation therapy in general practice and include a tour of the radiation oncology department.
Targeting Cancer has a growing body of literature tailored to the busy GP to enhance knowledge about modern radiation therapy. We encourage visitors to download articles on radiation therapy technology advances for localised prostate cancer, brain metastases, high risk cancers and more. Volunteer radiation oncologists partake in contributing to the materials and are often contactable for more information and clinical educational collaborations.
Please see Useful Resources to download the articles.
