Page 79 - Radiation Therapy Flipbook

VII. Assessment Process The assessment plan results and analysis were presented to the Advisory Committee
and the following comments were noted:

Clinical Competence – The benchmarks for clinical competence (reviewing and
verifying treatment plans and appropriately recognizing side-effects) were met. It
was noted that the Clinical Preceptors and Medical Director feel that the students are
reviewing and verifying treatment plans with ease. Their confidence levels seem to
be higher than in the past two classes. This is consistent with the assessment results
for these skills which have increased again for the past two years. It was also
In support of Objective 6.4: The brought to the Committee’s attention that the student to faculty lab ratio was reduced
meeting minutes in this section this year (6:1). This was difficult for the administration to approve because the
provide excellent documentation that laboratory teaching load had to be increased. However, the early assessment results,
the program and its communities of student feedback, and clinical feedback indicate that this lower ratio appears to
interest have reviewed outcomes data. provide students with increased skills. Tom E. Dison indicated that the 12:1 ratio in
As mentioned in the opening his cohort did not allow enough time for independent practice with a lab instructor.
sentence, the program has already The program will continue to monitor these skills in relation to the new ratio and
analyzed all actual outcome data and resulting student improvement.
has that documented on another
document. Additionally, the minutes Communication Skills – The benchmarks for communication skills, both oral and
indicate that the program will written, were also met for this reporting period. From the comments noted above, it
implement some changes in their plan appears that students are doing well with communicating with patients. The Clinical
and will continue to monitor unmet Preceptors also noted that the students are providing better instructions to patients.
benchmarks. Ms. Queue implemented a new assignment in the Patient Care course that requires
students to explain examinations to a variety of patients (pediatrics, hearing
The program has also provided a impaired patients, adult patients with and without medical backgrounds, etc.). Data
narrative that describes the various will continue to be collected for this measure to determine its effectiveness.
factors that have contributed to a met Although the communication scores have been acceptable, it was decided to
benchmark for the communication improve students skills in obtaining patient histories. An additional SLO was
goal. developed to measure this particular skill set and obtain quantitative data. The
additional SLO reads, “Students will obtain appropriate patient histories during
For unmet benchmarks in the critical clinical rotations.” The measurement tool will be Question 2 on the Affective
thinking goal, the Committee has Behavior Clinical Form and will be collected semesters II and V by the Clinical
begun to outline a plan to increase the Preceptors. The benchmark will be set at 80% and reviewed again after data has
benchmarks in the future and to assure been collected and trends analyzed.
that current students are afforded the
opportunity to improve also. Critical Thinking – The benchmark for the student learning outcome, “Evaluating
and interpreting data,” was not met. It appears that students are experiencing
This is a good example of a met problems with drawing conclusions from the data provided on the mock scientific
benchmark; however, the Committee claim assignment. This is the first time that this benchmark has not been met.
agreed that a change was needed to Students may need additional practice with extracting conclusions from unknown
assure that student learning was the data sets. Faculty have added an additional data extrapolation assignment to the
focus. Research Techniques course to give students an additional opportunity to hone their
skills. The faculty will review where additional practice might be implemented and
gauge the student need for additional instruction.

The benchmark for the student learning outcome, “Demonstrate reproducible patient
treatment positioning.” was met; however, we would like to see a marked increase in
the actual results. Although the benchmark was met, it appears that students are still
struggling with positioning imagers to match anatomy using Cone Beam CT. The
Clinical Preceptors will continue to apprise the program of the students’ ability in
this area. The faculty will be surveying other programs and researching the idea of
mandating manual techniques for all procedures.

Professional Growth and Development – Both benchmarks were met. There is
some concern that one of the student learning outcomes (SLO) is not a good
measure of professional growth and development. The Committee reviewed the
SLO and felt that “Students will attend a professional meeting” really does not
reflect assessment of professional growth and development. Additionally, the
faculty felt that simply assessing attendance does not indicate any type of learning.
The SLO will be revised in the next cycle to evaluate – “Students will employ
ethical behaviors in the clinical settings”. Question 5 on the Affective Behavior