Easy way to remember pelvic OAR dose constraints?

[brendav]

So many studies in GU and GYN, with different dose constraints.

I find these harder to remember than head and neck sites.

For oral board purposes, does anyone have an easy way to remember the following?

Bladder
Rectum
Bowel
Femoral heads
Penile bulb (prostate)

thanks

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[Damn_Daniel]

Yeah... The way I did it was that I would write down the constraints from a protocol. Then I would read it. Then I'd recite it without looking at my paper. If I got it wrong, then I would have to read them more. I would repeat this process until I was able to recite them all. YMMV***

Problem with some of these is that for prostate you need very specific numbers because the dose is so high. For 45-50 gy to pelvis for gyn and gi, the protocols vary, and institutionally there is variance. You can go to RO toolbox and see what the most up to date parameters are for most sites.

Also, should know genitalia and bone marrow. And volumetric constraints for gyn Brachy.

***The technique described above has worked well for me for studying most things for many years, but it's just one person's way of doing it.

 

[Chartreuse Wombat]

Yeah... The way I did it was that I would write down the constraints from a protocol. Then I would read it. Then I'd recite it without looking at my paper. If I got it wrong, then I would have to read them more. I would repeat this process until I was able to recite them all. YMMV***

Problem with some of these is that for prostate you need very specific numbers because the dose is so high. For 45-50 gy to pelvis for gyn and gi, the protocols vary, and institutionally there is variance. You can go to RO toolbox and see what the most up to date parameters are for most sites.

Also, should know genitalia and bone marrow. And volumetric constraints for gyn Brachy.

***The technique described above has worked well for me for studying most things for many years, but it's just one person's way of doing it.

The process described is known as retrieval practice; calling to mind a list. The cognitive science behind this method as a proven educational strategy is airtight. It is proven to work in multiple contexts. It is essentially testing; repeated over and over. I would go further and encourage you to repeat the process even after you get the answers correct as this will consolidate learning.

You should also use another proven educational strategy-distributed practice. This is the opposite of cramming. Ten episodes of 30 minutes distributed over time results in better retention than two 150 minute cram sessions. Multiple smaller fractions is better (the opposite of hypofractionation) is best for long term learning and retrieval.