Zeitschrift für Krebsforschung und Immunonkologie
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Changes in Knowledge Levels through Lectures on Radiotherapy to Nursing Students in Japan

Osamu Tanaka

Background: Recently, the number of patients choosing radiotherapy is increasing in Japan. It is necessary for even nurses to have knowledge of radiotherapy. We measured the degree of awareness with a lecture on how a nursing student can obtain knowledge of radiotherapy.
Materials and methods: Forty nursing students who were in their third year and preparing for their national nursing certification in two months were recruited. The 90-min lecture covered a range of topics from general theories to specific concepts. The students were not informed that they would be required to fill a survey at the end of the lecture. This was to avoid bias that could occur from knowing in advance that a survey would be conducted.
Results: The following items below were particularly remarkable. The distinction between the radiologist and the radiation oncologist. The radiotherapy is a local therapy. The pain from bone metastasis could be relieved.
Conclusion: Students had very little knowledge on radiotherapy before the lecture. the results of this study indicated the need to increase the number of lectures on radiotherapy for nursing as well medical students. As the number of radiotherapy patients increases.