Radiate and Educate: Empowering Future Physicians Through an International Radiation Oncology Student Newsletter

Abstract Background: The field of radiation oncology (RO) is frequently overlooked by medical students due to limited exposure during traditional medical school curricula. Initiatives aimed at increasing exposure while creating opportunities for medical student engagement are vital. Here, we present the inception, 1.5-year progress, and future goals of a student-led RO newsletter , RadOnc Student Scan , published by Applied Radiation Oncology (ARO), a quarterly journal for radiation oncologists and clinical specialists who treat cancer patients . Newsletter Impact on Medical Student Education: The RadOnc Student Scan newsletter, crafted by medical student editors, is published quarterly on the ARO website, posted on social media (X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram), and emailed to subscribers. The newsletter’s educational impact was measured by social media and email interactions, and participation in publishing and networking opportunities. As of August 28, 2024, a team of 13 medical students from 7 medical schools across 3 countries published 7 issues of the RadOnc Student Scan newsletter. Issues included RO key concept reviews, interviews with faculty (7) and residents (3), summaries of recent articles (33), educational resources, and career development opportunities. Since the establishment of the newsletter, 33 unique publishing opportunities were created for student editors. As of February 2024, 3 issues of the newsletter garnered an average viewership of 1296 on X and 591 on Facebook, and 1 issue garnered 145 views on Instagram. For each journal publication emailed to subscribers, there was an average of 6 clicks on the newsletter link. Discussion: The RadOnc Student Scan newsletter is a novel method of potentially increasing medical student exposure to RO. In addition to providing content for readers, the newsletter allowed editors to learn about RO while gaining valuable publishing and networking opportunities. Plans include further medical student recruitment as well as content development and readership analysis using an embedded QR code.