Unveiling Disparities: Exploring Differential Attainment in Postgraduate Training Within Clinical Oncology.

AIMS: Differential attainment (DA) in post graduate medical training is a recognised challenge and refers to unexplained variation across groups when split by several protected characteristics. The Royal College of Radiology is committed to fostering diversity, inclusivity, and equality with the goal of narrowing existing gaps and improving training outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a mixed methods study aiming to understand the causes of DA with view to helping the RCR develop strategies to address this. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 140 clinical oncology trainees in September 2022. Trainees and trainers (17 and 6 respectively) from across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, took part in focus group and interviews from August to December 2022. Quantitative and qualitative data merged and interpreted. RESULT: Results showed international medical graduates and trainees from ethnic minority backgrounds were more likely to encounter challenges. The qualitative findings were used to identify three themes through which these problems could be framed. The trainee as a "space invader," the hidden curriculum of clinical oncology training and the process of navigating and tacking the training journey. CONCLUSION: Differential attainment is the product of a complex interplay between the trainee, trainer, and the training environment. Therefore, interventions must be tailored to different people and contexts. At a national level, the RCR can adopt general policies to promote this such as mentorship programmes, protected time for supervision and cultural competency training. Efficacy of proposed interventions for trial and their impact on DA should be evaluated to drive evidence-based changes.

ESTIMATION OF SCATTERED NEUTRONS CONTRIBUTION IN A NEUTRON CALIBRATION BUNKER USING A MONTE CARLO SIMULATION.

The contribution of scattered neutrons is inevitable in neutron calibration facilities. This contribution complicates the measurements of neutron radiation, therefore, it should be estimated to correct the response of neutron probe instruments. In the present work, Monte Carlo simulation was performed for a neutron calibration bunker using the MCNP-4C code. This simulation aimed to calculate the contribution ratio of scattered neutrons to the neutron field. To simulate the neutron field, 241Am-Be neutron source defined in the ISO 8529-1 was used. The results of the simulation reported in this work were found to be consistent with those found experimentally in previous work. Additionally, the distribution of both the ambient dose equivalent rate and the contribution ratio of scattered neutrons in the bunker were mapped using this simulation.