{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T09:08:06Z","timestamp":1784020086158,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":6,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783987200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783987200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005743","name":"Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005743","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J Canc Educ"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Background: Radiation oncology is central to multidisciplinary cancer care but remains poorly visible to students. Early educational exposure may improve awareness of the discipline and of the professional roles involved in radiotherapy. This study evaluated the short-term educational impact of a case-based school\u2013work orientation program for high school students. Methods: Between December 2025 and March 2026, 80 high school students participated in the \u201cInvisible Scalpel\u201d program at Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS and Universit\u00e0 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome. The program included 18 h of classroom-based teaching and 12 h of supervised group activities focused on a simulated clinical case. Students explored the roles of radiation oncologists, radiotherapy technicians\/radiation therapists, medical physicists, and biomedical engineers. Anonymous pre- and post-program questionnaires were completed by 60 students and analyzed descriptively. Likert scales (1\u20135) were used to evaluate attitudes towards the discipline. Results: Baseline knowledge of the purpose of radiotherapy was high, but awareness of professional roles, particularly medical physicists and biomedical engineers, was limited. After the program, all students correctly identified radiotherapy as a cancer treatment, 90% reported being informed about the professional roles involved, and correct identification of the radiation oncologist as responsible for treatment prescription increased from 33.3% to 71.7%. Misconceptions regarding radiation visibility and post-treatment radioactivity decreased. The proportion of students considering radiation oncology as a possible future career increased modestly from 11.7% to 16.6%. Program satisfaction was high, with all respondents stating that they would recommend the experience to peers. Conclusions: A case-based, multidisciplinary school\u2013work orientation program was associated with improved knowledge of radiotherapy, reduced misconceptions about radiation safety, and greater awareness of professional roles within the radiotherapy team. Although the short-term effect on career interest was modest, this educational format may represent a feasible model for early exposure to radiation oncology and related healthcare, physics, and engineering careers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s13187-026-02945-7","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T08:41:52Z","timestamp":1784018512000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Introducing High School Students to Radiation Oncology Through a Case-Based School\u2013Work Orientation Program: The \u201cInvisible Scalpel\u201d Experience"],"prefix":"10.1007","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-5133-8507","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Raffaella Michela","family":"Rinaldi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Stefania","family":"Manfrida","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonella","family":"Martino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Gerardina","family":"Stimato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Angela","family":"Romano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sara","family":"Iacovone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Laura","family":"Ferrigno","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cristina","family":"Calabrese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Maria Antonietta","family":"Gambacorta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mariangela","family":"Massaccesi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"2945_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Zafar F, Vilsan J, Mani S, Al Yousif AR, Cano-Reyes SE, Abraham G, de Barros Neto JF, Imam B, Aluko M, Sikdar S (2025) AI in radiation oncology: a comprehensive review of current applications and future directions. cureus. 2025;17(9): e92964. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.7759\/cureus.92964","DOI":"10.7759\/cureus.92964"},{"issue":"1017","key":"2945_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1025","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijrobp.2022.11.025","volume":"115","author":"PA Ingledew","year":"2023","unstructured":"Ingledew PA, Lalani N, Daly M, Campbell SR (2023) Catalysing the next generation: interventions to increase medical student interest in radiation oncology. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2023; 115: 1017\u20131025. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.ijrobp.2022.11.025","journal-title":"Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys"},{"key":"2945_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Wu TC, McCloskey SA, Wallner PE, Steinberg ML, Raldow AC (2021) The declining residency applicant pool: a multi-institutional medical student survey to identify precipitating factors. Adv Radiat Oncol 2021; 6:100597. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.adro.2020.10.010","DOI":"10.1016\/j.adro.2020.10.010"},{"key":"2945_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Petrianni GM, Fiore M, Onorati E et al (2023) Addressing the crisis: the looming shortage of radiation oncologists and the urgency for action. Radiol Med 2023; 128: 1284\u20131285. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11547-023-01667-w","DOI":"10.1007\/s11547-023-01667-w"},{"key":"2945_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Nardone V, Boldrini L, Salvestrini V et al (2023) Are you planning to be a radiation oncologist? A survey by the young group of the Italian Association of Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology (yAIRO). Radiol Med 2023;128:252\u2013260. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11547-022-01586-2","DOI":"10.1007\/s11547-022-01586-2"},{"key":"2945_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Rinaldi RM, Massaccesi M, Autorino R et al (2026) Brief clinical exposure boosts radiation oncology awareness among Italian medical students. Journal of Radiotherapy in Practice. 2026; 24: e46. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S1460396925100344","DOI":"10.1017\/S1460396925100344"}],"container-title":["Journal of Cancer Education"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s13187-026-02945-7.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s13187-026-02945-7","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s13187-026-02945-7.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T08:41:53Z","timestamp":1784018513000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1007\/s13187-026-02945-7"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]]},"references-count":6,"alternative-id":["2945"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s13187-026-02945-7","relation":{},"ISSN":["0885-8195","1543-0154"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0885-8195","type":"print"},{"value":"1543-0154","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]]},"assertion":[{"value":"17 May 2026","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"7 July 2026","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"14 July 2026","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The program was conducted as an institutional school\u2013work orientation activity. Anonymous questionnaires were administered as part of the educational evaluation of the program, and only aggregated data were analyzed and reported. No identifiable information on individual students or schools was collected or included in the manuscript. Given the educational nature of the activity and the anonymous, aggregate reporting of data, the need for formal ethics approval was considered not applicable.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics Approval"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing Interest"}}]}}