The Radiation Oncology Education Collaborative Study Group 2020 Spring Symposium: Is virtual the new reality? Journal Article
| Authors: | Nelson, B. A.; Lapen, K.; Schultz, O.; Nangachiveettil, J.; Braunstein, S. E.; Fernandez, C.; Fields, E. C.; Gunther, J. R.; Jeans, E.; Jimenez, R. B.; Kharofa, J. R.; Laucis, A.; Yechieli, R. L.; Gillespie, E. F.; Golden, D. W. |
| Article Title: | The Radiation Oncology Education Collaborative Study Group 2020 Spring Symposium: Is virtual the new reality? |
| Abstract: | Purpose: Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Radiation Oncology Education Collaborative Study Group (ROECSG) hosted its annual international symposium using a virtual format in May 2020. This report details the experience of hosting a virtual meeting and presents attendee feedback on the platform. Methods and Materials: The ROECSG symposium was hosted virtually on May 15, 2020. A postsymposium survey was distributed electronically to assess attendee demographics, participation, and experience. Attendee preference and experience were queried using 3-point and 5-point Likert-type scales, respectively. Symplur LLC was used to generate analytics for the conference hashtag (#ROECSG). Results: The survey was distributed to all 286 registrants, with a response rate of 67% (191 responses). Seventeen nonattendee responses were omitted from this analysis, for a total of 174 included respondents. Eighty-two attendees (47%) were present for the entire symposium. A preference for a virtual symposium was expressed by 78 respondents (45%), whereas 44 (25%) had no preference and 52 (30%) preferred an in-person meeting. A total of 150 respondents (86%) rated the symposium as “extremely” well organized. Respondents who had not attended a prior in-person ROECSG symposium were more likely to prefer the virtual format (P = .03). Seventy-eight respondents (45%) reported a preference for the virtual platform for reviewing scholarly work, and 103 (59%) reported a preference for an in-person platform for networking. On the day of the symposium, #ROECSG had 408 tweets and 432,504 impressions. Conclusions: The 2020 ROECSG symposium was well received and can serve as a framework for future virtual meetings. Although the virtual setting may facilitate sharing research, networking aspects are more limited. Effort is needed to develop hybrid virtual and in-person meetings that meet the needs of participants in both settings. Social media is a significant avenue for dissemination and discussion of information and may be valuable in the virtual setting. © 2020 Elsevier Inc. |
| Keywords: | adult; major clinical study; conference paper; demography; radiotherapy; oncology; education; radiation oncology; human experiment; surveys; response rate; social media; methods and materials; human; male; female; likert scale; user experience; e-learning; springs (components); scholarly works; study groups; virtual meetings; virtual platform; spring |
| Journal Title: | International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics |
| Volume: | 110 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| ISSN: | 0360-3016 |
| Publisher: | Elsevier Inc. |
| Date Published: | 2021-06-01 |
| Start Page: | 315 |
| End Page: | 321 |
| Language: | English |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2020.12.026 |
| PUBMED: | 33373657 |
| PROVIDER: | scopus |
| PMCID: | PMC8122018 |
| DOI/URL: | |
| Notes: | Conference Paper -- Export Date: 1 June 2021 -- Source: Scopus |
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