This week I was in Hamilton visiting McMaster University where they have the Mohawk programme. This degree in Radiation Therapy differs significantly from the Michener programme as the students are able to select direct from high school to enter into the medical sciences course. This year they had 600 students apply for the 150 places, so competition is high. They attribute this partly to the excellent marketing they receive at a grassroots level, but also to the name of the course, by having 'medical' the course seems to gain the precedence it deserves. After a year of the medical sciences course students then specialise into a specialist stream:
- Radiation therapy (only a cohort size of 24 students)
- Radiography
- Ultrasound
By doing this the students do have a chance during year 1 to become fully informed regarding the 3 disciplines and this seems to ensure students are able to make informed decisions. It became apparent as well that when students started the medical sciences course they were doing so to study radiography or ultrasound as they had never heard of radiation therapy, however when it came to choosing, more students apply to do radiation therapy than the other two specialism. Adopting this strategy in the UK would require a huge change in practice, however it does appear to be a successful strategy in reducing attrition within the specialism as there appears to only be the loss of students in the first year. They certainly don't observe the issues we sometimes see with students having made the wrong career choice and switching between the health care courses offered.
It was also incredibly interesting to see the competition for the radiation therapy course being so high and as a result of this only the most academically advanced students get selected. As McMaster don't have interviews this could be a risky strategy to adopt as from experience academia doesn't always translate into an excellent radiotherapy student due to the skills required in clinical. When discussing this with the lecturers it did become apparent that they do quite often have to provide extra support sessions for students who struggle with their interpersonal skills and communication. A simple interview process could possibly eliminate this, however interview processes are extremely resource intensive and this is why McMaster couldn't warrent doing them.
Friday 11 June 2010
Odette Cancer Centre
Hi Everyone,
So I have been in Canada now for 3 weeks and this week has been particularly insightful. I have visited Odette Cancer Centre in Toronto, a lovely department, with a relaxed intimate environment. At Odette I met with the Clinical Radiation Manager, the Education Manager, the Clinical Co-ordinators, the Clinical Educator and the 1st year students. Everyone was extremely helpful and supportive of my visit and provided me with valuable information regarding their experiences of student training from a variety of perspectives. It was a positive experience to be able to discuss with the first year students about their decision to enter into the RT profession and how they specifically heard about Radiation therapy. As with other students I have spoken to, the general consensus was that they stumbled upon RT by accident, either through searching the Michener website or by failing to gain the GPA required for medicine and then looking for an alternative health care profession. None of the students had ever heard of radiation therapy previous to their research into health professions, which highlights the poor professional identity within Canada.
The students did establish that finance issues were a large concern. Many had researched the final salary received by a radiation therapist and looked at the course fees, which by my standards are high at $7,300 but are still the lowest within U of T.
The students did clarify that because of the financial commitment they make to the course, even if they were to experience any doubts during their training they wouldn't be able to withdraw. This was especially the case for those students being supported by their parents. Of the students I spoke to they all but 1 had already completed an undergraduate degree and so already had debts of approximately $25,000.
None of the students had experienced any negative clinical experiences and were actively enjoying their clinical placement, relishing the opportunity to link clinical and academic knowledge. They commented on the supportive nature of staff and how they felt integrated into the team. The management was particularly supportive of education from the grass roots level through to advanced practice and this did seem to have a positive impact on staff and their commitment to CPD was evident through the research being undertaken and those who were doing further study.
Odette due to it's close locality to PMH seems to be the second most popular option for students to want to train at. It is therefore encouraging to see the support mechanisms in place for the students and the programme support from the Clinical Co-ordinators.
On to Hamilton next to visit McMaster University, which will be great to see the contrast between the two programmes.
So I have been in Canada now for 3 weeks and this week has been particularly insightful. I have visited Odette Cancer Centre in Toronto, a lovely department, with a relaxed intimate environment. At Odette I met with the Clinical Radiation Manager, the Education Manager, the Clinical Co-ordinators, the Clinical Educator and the 1st year students. Everyone was extremely helpful and supportive of my visit and provided me with valuable information regarding their experiences of student training from a variety of perspectives. It was a positive experience to be able to discuss with the first year students about their decision to enter into the RT profession and how they specifically heard about Radiation therapy. As with other students I have spoken to, the general consensus was that they stumbled upon RT by accident, either through searching the Michener website or by failing to gain the GPA required for medicine and then looking for an alternative health care profession. None of the students had ever heard of radiation therapy previous to their research into health professions, which highlights the poor professional identity within Canada.
The students did establish that finance issues were a large concern. Many had researched the final salary received by a radiation therapist and looked at the course fees, which by my standards are high at $7,300 but are still the lowest within U of T.
The students did clarify that because of the financial commitment they make to the course, even if they were to experience any doubts during their training they wouldn't be able to withdraw. This was especially the case for those students being supported by their parents. Of the students I spoke to they all but 1 had already completed an undergraduate degree and so already had debts of approximately $25,000.
None of the students had experienced any negative clinical experiences and were actively enjoying their clinical placement, relishing the opportunity to link clinical and academic knowledge. They commented on the supportive nature of staff and how they felt integrated into the team. The management was particularly supportive of education from the grass roots level through to advanced practice and this did seem to have a positive impact on staff and their commitment to CPD was evident through the research being undertaken and those who were doing further study.
Odette due to it's close locality to PMH seems to be the second most popular option for students to want to train at. It is therefore encouraging to see the support mechanisms in place for the students and the programme support from the Clinical Co-ordinators.
On to Hamilton next to visit McMaster University, which will be great to see the contrast between the two programmes.
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