1) Skilling Up to Meet Programmatic Needs: A Novel Radiation Therapy Led COVID -19 Testing Clinic
Presenter:
Fatima Oshin, Radiation Therapist (MRTT) – Windsor Regional Cancer Center
Learning Objectives:
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented itself as a test of our abilities to adapt and evolve as cancer care facilities and as health care professionals. In April 2020, there was a provincial government mandate for increased COVID-19 testing as a promising strategy to better guide care and management of patients. As a result, our leadership team moved forward with a plan to test all patients who are on active treatment and who will begin active treatment for the management of their cancer. Due to insufficient human resources, frontline Radiation Therapists (RT) had the opportunity to expand their clinical scope. Within the same week, three treatment delivery MRTT’s acknowledged the opportunity and underwent training. RT Clinical Practice Manager (CPM) and Systemic CPM (Registered Nurse) ensured MRTT testers demonstrated the knowledge, skill, and judgement to successfully perform nasopharyngeal swabs. The key focus of this plan was to minimize the time spent by patients in the cancer center, the distance travelled by patients in the hospital environment, and minimizing patient flow. The MRTT Swab Team actively created and shaped the swabbing process for all oncoming and current radiation therapy patients through interprofessional collaborations with the WRCC leadership team. Medical directive for this controlled act for MRTT’s was issued in an expedited timeline. The six month long swabbing process resulted in a coherent person-centered care. Consequently, the radiation therapy department was able to identify and take appropriate isolation and infection control measures during CT Sim and treatment delivery of those COVID-19 positive patients to effectively minimize COVID-19 spread. Thus, WRCC MRTT’s successfully adapted and evolved to utilize and expand their clinical skills to engage in the unique battle that we are fighting against COVID-19.
2) COVID-19 Impact to a Brachytherapy Program in Toronto, Ontario
Presenter:
Kitty Chan, Clinical Specialist Radiation Therapist – Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Learning Objectives:
Our cancer centre provides eye plaque brachytherapy (EPBT), prostate seeds implant (SI) BT in an operating room (OR); high-dose-rate (HDR) BT to prostate (magnetic resonance (MR)-guided & ultrasound (US)-guided), endometrial, cervical and vaginal recurrence (CAVR) cancers in a magnetic-resonance-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) room. The impact of COVID-19 (March-December 2020) on BT patients & brachytherapists (MRTs) are presented.
Focus:
– Describe the impact of COVID-19 on Brachytherapy Patients
– Describe the impact of COVID-19 on Brachytherapists