Our Facility:
The University of Kansas (KU) is a large academic hospital (984 bed) in Kansas City, Kansas. It is home to over 600 residents and a robust medical school. The KU Cancer Center is an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center and consistently ranked top 50 in the nation. As a tertiary care referral center, KU serves patients in Kansas, Missouri, and neighboring states.
The Richard and Anne Bloch Radiation Oncology Pavilion is equipped with advanced technology, including two Varian True Beams, one Varian Edge, one Varian Novalis, and one IBA Proton ProteusOne. We have one large procedure suite and one Elekta HDR after loader. We have dedicated team of 15 radiation oncologists at the main academic campus, six of whom specialize in brachytherapy. We have a team of 13 physicists at the main academic campus, several with extensive expertise in brachytherapy procedures. The medical residency program trains 6 residents over a 4-year curriculum, and our physics residency currently has 5 residents
Brachytherapy at KU has a strong history spanning more than four decades. Our department includes two recovery rooms, a state-of-the-art procedure room with anesthesia capabilities, two ultrasound units, fluoroscopy, and an adjacent CT simulation scanner.
We manage a high volume of prostate and gynecologic cancers, leveraging techniques such as CT-based planning with MRI fusion, direct planning on MRI scans for Gynecologic (GYN) HDR procedures, and real-time ultrasound-based planning using Mick applicators for LDR prostate brachytherapy. Additionally, we have a radiopharmaceutical program in our department supported by a dedicated hot lab.
We have created a dedicated prostate LDR and HDR workshop for our residents, and recently hosted the second annual workshop. In a half day, residents get hands-on instruction and experience with all steps of brachytherapy from physicians, physicists, and procedure staff.
Fellowship Description:
This two-month fellowship will be tailored to GYN and prostate brachytherapy, with additional training in high-volume fiducial and spacer procedures. Fellows will actively participate in all stages of patient care, from consultation to follow-up, gaining hands-on experience with HDR and LDR brachytherapy techniques.
The fellow will be expected to perform the procedure and comprehensively participate in treatment planning. The program emphasizes advanced treatment planning methods such as inverse planning, hybrid invers planning and real-time ultrasound-based approaches. Fellows will work alongside five high-volume brachy therapists, dedicated brachytherapy physicists and progressively achieving independence as their skills develop.
The experience will be hands-on with incremental levels of independence based on experience and skill.
Upon completing the fellowship, participants will receive a resource packet, including equipment guidelines, procedural documentation, and contact information for industry representatives to aid in establishing their own brachytherapy programs.
Case volume:
At KU, we perform over 300 brachytherapy procedures in a year. Over the course of the 2- month rotation, residents/fellows will receive hands-on clinical experience with HDR and LDR brachytherapy in a variety of settings with the following approximate case volume:
A typical week will consist of:
Opportunities for consultation, treatment planning, and research will be available based on fellow interest.
Fellowship Expectations and Learning Objectives:
The goal of this rotation is to provide radiation oncology fellows additional experience to advance their brachytherapy skills and understand the workflow and processes necessary to providing high-quality brachytherapy services upon completion of fellowship.
Patient Care
Fellows must be able to provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health.
Medical Knowledge
Fellows must demonstrate knowledge of established and evolving biomedical, clinical, epidemiological, and social-behavioral sciences, as well as the application of this knowledge to patient care.
Practice-Based Learning and Improvement
Fellows must demonstrate the ability to investigate and evaluate their care of patients, to appraise and assimilate scientific evidence, and continuously improve patient care based on constant self-evaluation and life-long learning.
Interpersonal and Communication Skills
Fellows must demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families, and health professionals.
Professionalism
Fellows must demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities and an adherence to ethical principles.
Systems-Based Practice
Fellows must demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care, as well as the ability to call effectively on other resources in the system to provide optimal health care.
End-of-Rotation Proficiencies
By the end of the fellowship, fellows should be able to:
Assistance for the cost of housing can be provided on case-by-case basis for fellows who choose to rotate at KU
ABS Fellowship Application: University of Kansas, HDR GYN and HDR/LDR Prostate
