ARROgram - August 2024 ARRO Announcements
August 2, 2024
ASTRO Government Relations Resident Fellowship, applications due August 23
Are you interested in government relations (GR) and congressional advocacy? If so, ASTRO’s GR Fellowship program is for you. As the 2025 GR Fellow, you would be included in GR and Health Policy committee calls, briefings with ASTRO Advocacy staff, and have mentorship meetings with GR leaders and ASTRO’s advocacy staff. The fellowship includes the Emerging Advocacy Grassroots Leader (EAGL) Award to help fund attendance at the annual ASTRO Advocacy Day. Read more from Dr. Aaron Bush, ASTRO’s 2024 GR Fellow. Learn more and apply! Applications are due by August 23.
Final call! Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee Mentorship Program sign-up
The ARRO Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee (EISC) will be working with ASTRO Mentorship Match to kick off its Annual Mentorship Program. In our ongoing commitment to fostering diversity, equity and inclusion within our field, we proudly present this mentorship initiative tailored to individuals with careers or interests in these critical areas. These include, but are not limited to, underrepresented groups in medicine, health disparity and equity interests. This comprehensive program consists of mentor-mentee pairing with a commitment of at least six months, to provide participants with a structured and supportive environment to engage in meaningful professional development. To ensure the continual enhancement of the program, we have implemented periodic assessments aimed at soliciting feedback and identifying areas for improvement.
We warmly welcome applications from medical students, residents and faculty members in both radiation oncology and medical physics who share our vision and commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in our field. If you are interested in becoming a mentor or mentee, please join here! For additional questions please contact Rehema Thomas, Associate Vice-chair for Mentorship.
Mark your calendar for ARRO Day on Saturday, September 28, in Washington, DC
The ARRO Annual Seminar, held during the ASTRO Annual Meeting, is a fun, educational and dynamic day that includes lunch, mentorship meet and greets, academic and community practice job panels, and talks from Emma Holliday, MD, and ASTRO Chair Howard Sandler, MD, MS, FASTRO. We will also present the results of the 2024 Graduating Resident Survey, which is always the highlight of the day! Please join us from 11:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, September 28. Lunch is $20 and can be purchased with your ASTRO Registration. If you already registered for ASTRO, you can add this event by modifying your registration here.
ASTRO 2024 Annual Meeting opportunities for medical students
ASTRO 2024 will offer students interested in learning more about careers in radiation oncology educational and networking opportunities. The ASTRO-ARRO Medical Student Workshop will serve as an introduction to the field of radiation oncology for medical students and cover topics including research within the field as a medical student, navigating interview season, thriving during intern year, and transitioning into radiation oncology residency. The 2024 Aspiring Scientists and Physicians Program (ASPP) welcomes all undergraduate, graduate and medical students, but it is particularly oriented toward students from backgrounds historically underrepresented in medicine, to learn more about career pathways in radiation oncology and the radiation sciences. Please help us spread the word to your students. Registration for these workshops is required and will remain open through September 12.
Need childcare for ASTRO 2024?
New this year, ASTRO Members-in-Training and members in their first year of practice who are presenting or speaking (poster presenter, oral presenter, invited faculty, moderator, panelist, discussant) at the Annual Meeting and are bringing a child(ren) to the meeting may apply for a child care stipend. A limited number of stipends are available on a first-come, first-served basis to eligible members. Learn more about eligibility requirements and view the Child Care Stipend Application.
Make plans now to join your colleagues for ASTRO 2024 from September 29 – October 2
Registration and housing are open for the 2024 ASTRO Annual Meeting being held September 29 – October 2 in Washington, DC, or through the live virtual meeting! This is the premier radiation oncology scientific and education event in the world. To see what’s in store, visit the Annual Meeting Portal; pay special attention to the Presidential Address as it centers around the meeting theme, “Targeting Provider Wellness for Exceptional Patient Care.” Some opportunities that may be of special interest include networking at:
- The Early-Career and Mentoring Lounge
- Speed Mentoring
- The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Reception
- The ASTRO Career Fair
- The Exhibit Hall featuring hundreds of vendors
You’ll receive a discounted rate when you register between now and August 15! And don’t forget to book your housing as hotels are filling up fast.
Fourth annual ARRO Bowl – Sunday, September 29
In another collaboration with Varian, ARRO will host the annual ARRO Bowl during the ASTRO Annual Meeting this year! Join us on September 29 for radiation oncology trivia and prizes! Sign up here!
Insights from 2023 ARRO Global Health Grant recipients
Join us August 5 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time as recipients of the 2023 ARRO Global Health Grant share insights into their research projects, detailing the project inception, challenges faced, key milestones and the impactful outcomes achieved. Whether you're interested in applying for the grant yourself, seeking inspiration for your own research project, or simply curious about global health initiatives, this event promises invaluable insights and inspiration!
Global health perspectives in radiation oncology: Navigating the job search
Join us September 9, 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, as Chika Nwachukwu, MD, PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Division of Radiation Oncology at UC San Diego and one of the newly selected global health subcommittee faculty advisors, discusses integrating global health into the radiation oncology job search. Gain practical advice and strategic tips whether you are a curious PGY-2 or a PGY-5 actively on the job hunt.
Are you Interested in brachytherapy and helping to develop education programming?
The American Brachytherapy Society (ABS) has recently established the ABS Resident Council, and they would love to have you! The council will provide a platform for residents interested in brachytherapy to come together, expand our professional networks, and impact our profession's trajectory. ABS membership is FREE for residents. If you're interested in becoming involved, please contact the ARRO-ABS liaison, Rehema Thomas, MD, our education chairs (Mustafa Basree, DO, and Shane Neibart, MS, MD), or Kristin Bradley, MD (ABS Board member and resident council advisor).
ABS is also interested in launching a newsletter that includes challenging brachytherapy teaching cases. This will be similar to the Red Journal’s Grey Zone cases. We hope to gather faculty/resident perspectives on these cases to facilitate our learning. If you’re interested in contributing, please let our ARRO-ABS liaison Dr. Rehema Thomas and/or Chirag Shah, MD (ABS faculty at Cleveland Clinic) know. Our team would be happy to work with you to write the case and solicit input from other faculty. This is a fun opportunity and one that allows residents to connect with faculty both at their home but also outside institutions.
The Resource Corner!
We have an exciting new resource developed by Wayne State in collaboration with the ARRO Education Committee! These education modules integrate radiobiology and physics into clinical scenarios to enhance training for residents by improving concept connectivity and information synthesis. Five modules are currently posted at the bottom of the page.
Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) project
We are finalizing templates for volunteers to streamline the writing process, and we will then pair resident volunteers with faculty members. We anticipate a group meeting in the next one to two months to review the logistics. Again, we appreciate everyone’s interest and enthusiasm in helping ARRO/ROECSG with this important topic. If you’re interested in helping with writing, please reach out to our education chairs (Dr. Mustafa Basree and Dr. Shane Neibart).
Sign up today for the 2024 ROI 5k – ARRO rate offered!
Lace up your running (or walking!) shoes and get ready for the 2024 ROI 5k Powered by Varian, a Siemens Healthineers Company! This annual event welcomes ASTRO Annual Meeting attendees, vendors and guests to help accelerate #RadOnc research by supporting the Radiation Oncology Institute (ROI) – the ASTRO Foundation. Participants this year will join a sunrise group run along the DC monuments (perfect Instagram picture opportunity!) or complete your 5k at your convenience using Strava – a free app. With your race registration, you’ll receive awesome swag, an invite to our group run on Tuesday, October 1, and access to multiple scenic routes. ARRO members receive a $15 discount by using the code ARRO2024 when you register here.
Remember to follow ARRO on social media!
We at ARRO provide resident input into professional organizations, disseminate information and foster communication among residents. Follow us on our freshly-minted ARRO Instagram (arro_org) or Twitter/X where we post about events, scholarships, grants, educational resources, networking opportunities and more. Direct messaging on both Instagram and Twitter/X is the fastest way to reach us.
Connect with ASTRO Leadership on the ROhub student community
Looking for an easy and direct way to connect with ASTRO leadership with questions and issues important to you? Join the conversation with ARRO leadership and ASTRO Board members, including Howard Sandler, MD, MS, FASTRO; Jeff Michalski, MD, MBA, FASTRO; and Geraldine Jacobson, MD, MPH, MBA, FASTRO. Introduce yourself to the community on the Introduce Yourself thread and feel free to pose any questions you have about the field of radiation oncology. All student, graduate student, and PGY-1 members have already been subscribed to daily digests and added to the community. To view the community, navigate to ROhub and select My Communities or visit the community directly.
You can also enroll in Mentor Match, hosted on ROhub, today in a few easy steps.
