Deployment of a Tailored and Hybrid Educational Strategy for Wartime Capacity Building: American Association of Physicists in Medicine/Help Ukraine Group/Ukrainian Association of Medical Physicists Training Program to Transition Ukraine From Co-60 to Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-12-2026

Institution/Department

Oncology

Journal Title

JCO global oncology

MeSH Headings

Ukraine; Humans; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated (methods); Capacity Building (methods); Curriculum; Health Physics (education); United States

Abstract

PURPOSE: The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) International Council (IC), in collaboration with Help Ukraine Group (HUG) and the Ukrainian Association of Medical Physicists (UAMP), developed a novel hybrid year-long training course to assist Ukrainian medical physicists in transitioning from Co-60 to intensity-modulated radiation therapy during the war. METHODS: To create a comprehensive curriculum for the course, AAPM IC committees, HUG, and UAMP conducted a needs assessment survey. Based on the survey results, the course was divided into three parts: foundational knowledge and linear accelerator commissioning (Part 1), treatment planning and quality assurance (QA) program (Part 2), and practical sessions on linear accelerator commissioning, QA, and treatment planning (Part 3). Part 1 and 2 featured 50 1.5-2 hour virtual lectures, with prelecture and postlecture assignments, delivered online with interactive questions, and artificial intelligence-driven synchronous subtitling in Ukrainian, while Part 3 included four 3-day practical sessions in Ukrainian at two clinical sites using equipment from two different vendors. RESULTS: A total of 131 medical physicists and students enrolled in Part 1 and 2, including almost all practicing medical physicists in Ukraine. Part 1 and Part 2 lectures were endorsed by AAPM and accredited by Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs. Average examination scores increased from 51.2% to 82.5% (Part 1) and 53.3% to 89.4% (Part 2). Satisfaction scores averaged 9.3 ± 0.9 of 10, with 96.3% recommending the course and 70% claiming changing practices. Practical sessions (Part 3) involved 62 participants, with examination scores improving from 57.8% to 80.5%. The average satisfaction for Part 3 was 9.8 ± 0.7 of 10. CONCLUSION: This collaborative training initiative demonstrates a concerted effort to support, educate, and expand the medical physics community in Ukraine during wartime. It can serve as a model for similar initiatives in other low- and middle-income countries/upper middle-income countries.

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