The ASRT Foundation has awarded a research team a $50,000 International Collaborative Research Grant that will support the analysis of advanced practice radiation therapist (APRT) training programs.
Principal investigator Maria Dimopoulos, PhD, and colleagues Samantha Skubish and Yat Tsang, PhD, from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, along with Nicole Harnett and Caitlin Gillan, PhD, from the University of Toronto in Canada will use the ASRT Foundation grant to identify an evidence-based, best-practice framework for APRT education in the U.S. and Canada.
Recipients of a $50,000 grant from the ASRT Foundation include, from left, Nicole Harnett; Maria Dimopoulos, PhD; Caitlin Gillan, PhD; Samantha Skubish; and Yat Tsang, PhD. Photo courtesy of ASRT Foundation.
An APRT practices at an advanced level in radiation therapy, according to the foundation. It requires the radiation therapist to complete additional education, training, and mentorship under the guidance of a radiation oncologist and allows APRTs to participate in shared clinical decision-making, leadership, education, and research.
According to Dimopoulos and colleagues, the need for APRTs in the U.S. and Canada is increasing, but there are no APRT training programs available. Furthermore, no study has analyzed the international training pathways to identify best practices for APRT education in North America.
