Entrustable Professional Activities for Radiation Therapy Students: A Literature Review

Background

The evolving healthcare landscape in Australia demands that Radiation Therapy (RT) graduates demonstrate competence and readiness to practice in diverse settings upon training completion. Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) are defined as units of professional practice. They constitute what clinicians do as daily work and the responsibilities and tasks that must be done in delivering patient care, such as assisting with treatment and simulation setups for cancer patients. This literature review explores the feasibility of implementing EPAs in the RT setting to standardise supervision and aid students in meeting legislative and academic requirements during shortened clinical placements.

Method

To identify relevant articles, a search of Ovid MEDLINE(R) ALL using a combination of MeSH terms and keywords for the two main concepts- EPAs and Radiation Therapy was conducted, yielding 384 results. Abstracts and titles were reviewed by both authors against inclusion criteria focusing on EPAs in RT, allied health and medical education.

Results

While evidence supporting EPAs in allied healthcare and medical settings is abundant, specific evidence for RT practice is limited. Literature in allied health and medical education highlights the number of benefits of EPAs for both students and educators in their specialties, such as cultivation of student confidence, a sense of ownership, and responsibility in professional development. This approach has the potential to enhance patient and student safety by linking competence to specific tasks, ensuring students acquire essential clinical skills before assuming independent roles.

Conclusion

The literature has demonstrated that the standardised use of EPAs may address the challenges of meeting legislative requirements within condensed clinical placements for RT students. Overall, the implementation of EPAs in RT would support both students and educators to meet the evolving demands of healthcare education and promote standardised competence among RT graduates.