Oncology patients require radiation therapies together with other treatment modalities to achieve optimal health. Fundamentally, Chen and Kuo explain that radiation therapy is useful in more than two-thirds of cancer treatment regimens since it remains the most critical curative treatment modality for uncomplicated neoplasms. To understand how radiation therapists and oncologists provide this therapy together with the associated caregiver-patient interactions, observations are necessary. As such, it is of paramount significance to launch and comprehensively describe a clinical observation experience in radiation oncology as a way through which much can be learned and understood from the actual situation in the radiation therapy department.
Responsibilities of Staff Radiation Therapists
My clinical observation days were at Barnes Jewish Hospital. This institution was one of the largest hospitals in Saint Louis that provides a variety of cancer treatments in a lovely department. This department provides care and comfort for patients in more enthusiastic ways by sharing trust and relationships with other patients. The staff there made an impact on each patient they met by trying to provide as much comfort and stress relief for the patients as possible. They were treating patients as family members who needed care, which was one of the things that made the treatments go smoothly and calmly because they built the trust that was needed between patients and their therapists. One of the things that attracted me the most was how they were dealing with mistakes by doing the right thing and documenting to best nursing paper writing service everything about the patient and what the patient likes or dislikes.
My clinical observations were done on four different days in four different treatment rooms in the same department. There were about nine treatment rooms not including the brachytherapy or proton beam therapy. Each treatment room in the radiation oncology department had different styles of treatment with a different therapist, and that does not mean different linear accelerators. In fact, all my observations were done, only about treating patients with linear accelerators. Each therapist has a different background, but the hospital unites them by changing their rotations to multiple treatment rooms and with different therapists at a time. I realized that this strategy helps therapists to keep learning and engaging at all times with the equipment and staff with the intention of strengthening their communication skills. Each therapist was special concerning how they treated patients with unique concerns and how they delivered treatments with the assurance of quality and safety.
The Most Interesting Aspects
The first observation day at the hospital was more about how to learn what I am supposed to do and to be when I become a therapist. I was excited enough to keep observing and asking questions. The therapist I was with helped me understand the nature of the job and how to communicate with patients before, during, and after every treatment session. This helped me to understand how to respect each patient by providing the optimal care we have to give since each cancer patient went through a lot of pain by just coming to the fractionation that was planned for them. The problems associated with different types of treatments would continue as the dose per fraction is delivered to them, which caused them to have some side effects.
Throughout the observation period, I learned that the side effects of radiation therapies might vary depending on both the type and location of the tumor as well as the dosage of the treatment. For example, a side effect of head or neck cancers is periodontal disease, which means that sometimes, the teeth can be extracted before radiation therapy is delivered. Loss of appetite, mucositis, lack of adequate saliva, cataract and skin irritations, taste changes, and lacrimal glands are among the most prevalent side effects. In some cases, patients would feel anxious when they anticipated future treatment sessions, a problem that emanated due to the fear of the associated side effects.
Demand for Radiation Therapy
However, the number of patients who have been treated was more than 25 per day, which indicated how busy the department was due to the increased demand for radiation therapy. According to Yang et al., many factors contribute to the increase in the demand for high-quality radiation therapy for oncology patients. One of the most typical factors is the increase in the incidence and prevalence rates of different types of cancers. Also, Young et al. explain that increased health insurance resulted in the expansion of coverage, something that raised the utilization of healthcare services. Due to the high demand for healthcare services, I used this opportunity to learn the most while observing and monitoring how therapists were handling their patients during the treatment and disease processes. The therapists were nice to me since they explained almost everything that was being done to ensure I understood the best practices before leaving the hospital department. Relying on the busy nature of the radiation oncology department, I learned much about how to behave as a professional caregiver, communicate with patients and their acquaintances, enhance patient comfort before, during, and after the radiation therapy, and most importantly, make and execute checklists for all patients.
The Most Interesting Observation
On the first day of observation, one of the things that interested me the most was the case of a pediatric patient who came for the treatment of her leukemic condition. Her condition was worse since the leukemia was in its advanced stages, something that I could read all over her face since she had gone through a lot. This patient was unable to walk. To make the situation worse, she had lost her hair because of the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. She was unable to walk. After setting her up on the treatment couch, the therapist noticed that something was not right with her chilled abdomen since it was stiff and bloated. Consequently, the therapist tried to complete the treatment. Unfortunately, when he saw the image matching on the treatment council and compared it with the simulated original CT images, he and other therapists found out that her bloated belly could affect the dose of treatment.
As a result, consultations were considered the best approach to addressing the issue of this child. The radiation therapists called the physicist and the radiation oncologist to assess the pediatric patient and ascertain the nature of the problem. Consequently, this endeavor forced them to stop the treatment until they could figure out the reason for her bloated abdomen. This child was supposed to be treated with external beam radiation therapy, which is a very common treatment for leukemia cancer. External beam radiotherapy is mostly used for outpatient cancer treatment. It delivers a high dose of the beam from the linear accelerator to the tumor. This is what the child is being treated with. This experience showed me how radiation therapists take the great responsibility of doing the right thing before proceeding with the plan of treatment. They were more than willing to stop any treatment in pursuit of what suits the patient most, primarily when other challenges manifest. Therefore, radiation therapy is of great significance but with some adverse effects that should be considered before its administration. The most important aspect of the profession of radiation therapy is the provision of quality care even if it may mean stopping some interventions for the best interest of the patient.
Employment Opportunities
Employment opportunities are plenty for therapists in the Department of Radiation Therapy. As earlier stated, the demand for radiation therapy for oncology patients is high due to the increase in the prevalence of cancer and improved healthcare access. Further, Chowdhary et al. report that the demand has grown ten times faster than the rate of growth in supply, which has created the need for more therapists. In the department, therapists have the opportunity to be employed as incomers from their basic education levels. Further, Chowdhary et al. posit that senior radiation therapists in oncology care are highly needed. This evidence and the observations I made reveal that the need for consultants and other senior therapists is high, which means that many of these professionals can obtain employment in senior positions. That notwithstanding, I realized that leaders are required in the department for the effective management of human and physical resources, an opportunity that is reserved for therapists.
Conclusion
Through the reflection of this observation experience, I have realized that radiation therapy is an exceptional profession that adds immense value to patients, especially those with different oncology problems. Therapists implement different treatment types. However, these treatments are coupled with side effects that should be addressed to enhance increased compliance. Further, this profession requires an immense supply of caregivers due to the increase in the demand for radiotherapy, which creates the opportunity for many employment opportunities. As a profession, providers are compelled to make decisions in the best interest of the patient. Finally, therapists do not work in isolation but in collaboration with other colleagues in different professions.
