Teaching opportunities
Residents have the opportunity to work with medical students to develop clinical teaching skills and serve as research mentors. You will receive an appointment as a clinical instructor at the Tufts University School of Medicine.
Roentgen Resident Research Award (presented by the Radiological Society of North America)
This award recognizes outstanding residents who have advanced radiologic research. Recipients have published in peer-reviewed journals, presented work at regional and national meetings, received a research grant or contributed to the success of a department research program.
Recipients of this award in our department include:
- 2024: Abbas Rattani, MD
- 2023: Brett H. Diamond, MD
- 2022: Utkarsh C. Shukla, MD
Academic training in clinical trial development is open to our residents through the clinical translational research center. Residents are encouraged to participate in clinical research. This research will be supervised by assigned departmental faculty.
Residents and medical student clinical research projects span from retrospective chart review, to inclusion in the development of investigator-initiated clinical trials. The medical physics department has an active research program that provides opportunities for medical students to lead an independent project in treatment planning, dosimetry, imaging and radiobiological calculations.
Annual mock oral examination
The purpose of this annual three-hour virtual interactive examination is to simulate a radiation oncology oral board examination through a series of one-on-one timed interviews reviewing disease-site specific cases (GYN, GU, Lung, GI, Breast, Head & Neck, Pedi CNS and Lymphoma) with individual feedback from disease-site experienced faculty providing an overview with practical tips.
This process allows the examinee to practice the delivery of answers in an examination atmosphere. Responses are scored and submitted to the program director, who meets with each resident to discuss the results. The instructors for this course include invited, recognized faculty and faculty from the Department of Radiation Oncology at Tufts Medical Center. Faculty and guest examiners of this exercise are not current oral board examiners. Examiners for this course do not have a role in developing or administering examinations.
Medical student clerkship at Tufts Medical Center + Brown University — R.I. Hospital (Lifespan)
Medical Student Education is a key component of our academic mission, and we are committed to training the next generation of clinicians, investigators and academic leaders. This two to four-week elective provides Tufts University School of Medicine and Brown Alpert Medical School students with exposure to both the breadth and depth of radiation oncology and cancer care in general.
Each student plays an integral role on the patient care team. They can see patients during initial presentation, therapy and follow-up care for various malignancies. Students learn the importance of treating patients with multi-disciplinary care and evidence-based approaches. They become acquainted with the advanced technology that our department routinely employs.
This elective is designed not only for students with a specific interest in radiation oncology but also for those who want a broader understanding of malignant disease and its clinical characteristics. We provide guidance, mentorship, and research opportunities for students interested in pursuing a residency and career in radiation oncology.
Recently, we combined the electives at Rhodes Island Hospital and North Main Radiation Oncology. This gives students more exposure to radiation oncology in hospital- and community-based settings and an integrated educational experience, guidance and mentorship.
At the end of their rotation, students are encouraged to complete an evaluation providing feedback about their experience. Student feedback indicates that rotation objectives were made clear, faculty were supportive and interested in students’ education and the experience was educationally valuable, giving the students a good insight into the practice of radiation oncology. All students completing the evaluation have given uniformly strongly positive feedback.