How much should didactics factor in to making your rank order list?

[StanleyCup7]

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It seems that in most residencies, not much was mentioned of didactics other than the standard, "x hours/week for Physics and y hours/week RadBio and (blah, blah) about the clinical didactics." However, some of the "top-tier" programs that I was fortunate enough to interview at did a much better job of detailing the quality of their didactics and were much more forthcoming with information pertaining to how they were run. So, a couple of questions:

1. How much should the quality of didactics factor in to making your rank order list?

2. It seems like a lot of learning RadOnc is just plowing through Gunderson, Perez/Brady and Red Journal on your own...is that correct?

3. Is it a red flag if a program doesn't say much about their didactics?

Any and all advice for those of us MS-IV's making our rank order list would be greatly appreciated. A big thank you to all of those who choose to contribute. 🙂

 

[yeasterbunny]

...Is it a red flag if a program doesn't say much about their didactics?

I wouldn't necessarily say this is a red flag unless you ask them specifically about it and they still don't say much, but then that probably holds true about anything.

As you stated, all the programs are going to have relatively similar amounts of physics, radbio, etc. Other conferences will vary more widely and you can decide how well they fit your style of learning. There will be varying amounts of formal instruction but yes, rad onc will involve a lot of reading regardless.

A more important question for me was whether the residents think they are well-taught, and whether they routinely have people failing boards.

As for how you prioritize your rank list, obviously this is a personal decision, but I think there are probably more important things above didactics for most people.

 

[Lady In Rad]

As a resident, I feel didactics are very important component of a residency. It allows for a discussion and interaction regarding the material, putting things into context.