Resident training in brachytherapy in France: A 10-year update after the first survey of SFJRO members

Purpose: A previous survey conducted in 2012 showed that 82% of radiation oncology residents felt they were not receiving optimal brachytherapy training. With almost 10 years of hindsight, the aim was to update these results.

Material and methods: An anonymized questionnaire based on the 2012 survey was submitted to the 161 French residents enrolled in the 2021 French Society of Young Radiation Oncologists (Société Française des Jeunes Radiothérapeutes Oncologues - SFJRO) national brachytherapy courses.

Results: With a participation rate of 73%, 86% of the residents were interested in brachytherapy, but 80% consider their training in brachytherapy insufficient. 88% and 69% of the residents stated that they knew gynecological and prostate brachytherapy indications correctly, respectively. The residents have achieved proficiency in the technique of brachytherapy of vaginal vault in 36% (compared with 21% in 2012), utero-vaginal in 13% (12% in 2012), including 4% with interstitial implants, and prostate in only 4% (4% in 2012). In their brachytherapy internships, 18% of the residents declared having no role or an observational role. The main obstacles to training were the need to go to several centers to see several indications (85%), lack of brachytherapy activity in the center (72%), and the difficulty of freeing themselves from hospital duties (71%).

Conclusions: With results globally stable compared with 2012, brachytherapy training needs improvement. In the absence of a mandatory internship in a reference center or dedicated fellowships, residents must have protected access to training sites by favoring inter-hospital exchanges.