For radiation oncology, social media is a favored communication platform, but it uses non-structured hashtags, which limits communication. In this work, we created a set of structured hashtags with key opinion leaders in radiation oncology, and we report on their use after two years post-deployment. Hashtags were created, voted on, and refined by crowdsourcing 38 international experts, including physicians, physicists, patients, and organizations from North America, Europe, and Australia. The finalized hashtag set was shared with the radiation oncology community in September 2019. The number of tweets for each hashtag was quantified via Symplur through December 2021. For the top five tweeted hashtags, we captured the number of yearly tweets in the pre-deployment and post-deployment periods from 09/01/2019 to 08/31/2021. We created and tracked structured social media hashtags in radiation oncology. These hashtags disseminate information among a diverse oncologic community. To maintain relevance, regular updates are needed. Through the software, we accessed each hashtag to quantify the total number of tweets and the mean number of tweets per day for the period extending from the inception date of each hashtag until the analysis date on 12/21/2021. For the top five tweeted hashtags, we captured more detail on the number of yearly tweets, users, and percentage growth in the pre-deployment (September 1, 2017–August 31, 2019) and post-deployment (September 1, 2019–August 31, 2021) periods. Moreover, the tweets stakeholder groups for the top five and newly incorporated tweets were captured, and the number of tweets for each group was reported.

Numerous radiation oncology residents and junior attendings have identified common weaknesses in residency training that hinder the transition from training to independent practice. Recurrent themes include not only general autonomy but also proficiency in technical skills, such as treatment plan review and image verification, and nontechnical skills, such as leadership, mentorship, and education. While multiple strategies to address these deficiencies have been investigated, many are not widely available or may be difficult to implement. We aim to summarize the frequently cited challenges in the transition to independent radiation oncology practice as well as the pertinent interventions that have been explored.

With Regards,
Sara Giselle
Associate Managing Editor
Journal of Medical Physics and Applied Scinces