Ms. Claire Poole

Healthcare students are regularly exposed to emotionally demanding and high-pressure clinical environments, making resilience, reflective capability and professional identity essential attributes for safe and compassionate practice. Reflective practice is embedded within the CORU Standards of Proficiency for all Health and Social Care Professionals and is recognised as a key mechanism for supporting professional learning and lifelong development. However, traditional approaches to reflective practice rely predominantly on written reflection, which may not be inclusive or effective for all learners. The Reflective Insights into Student Experience (RISE) project was developed in response to Trinity College Dublin's Inclusive Curriculum (TCD-INC) initiative and seeks to broaden opportunities for reflective engagement through creative expression. RISE introduces an innovative arts-based model of reflective practice within the undergraduate Radiation Therapy programme, enabling students to explore and communicate their clinical placement experiences through artistic media. Grounded in the principles of Universal Design for Learning, the project provides multiple means of expression, creating a more inclusive and accessible approach to reflection while supporting resilience, self-awareness, emotional processing and professional identity formation. The project builds on a successful pilot delivered as an extracurricular initiative with Senior Sophister Radiation Therapy students, which demonstrated both feasibility and positive student engagement. Funding will support the integration of creative health principles into the undergraduate curriculum through a structured series of facilitated workshops delivered during clinical education. Students will produce a collection of mixed-media artworks reflecting on their placement experiences, providing opportunities for individual reflection, peer learning and collaborative discussion. The project aims to implement and evaluate an arts-based model of reflective practice for undergraduate Radiation Therapy students. Specifically, it will: 1) Deliver a series of facilitated creative workshops that enable students to reflect on their clinical placement experiences through artistic expression. 2) Evaluate the impact of the intervention on students' reflective engagement, collaborative learning and overall experience using structured observation and targeted evaluation measures. The project will culminate in a public exhibition of student artwork, showcasing the lived experiences of Radiation Therapy students to students, academic staff and clinical partners across the Faculty of Health Sciences. Beyond celebrating student learning, the exhibition will create opportunities for dialogue about the human experience of healthcare, promote reflection across professional groups and strengthen understanding of the role and identity of radiation therapists. By embedding creative arts within clinical education, RISE seeks to establish a more inclusive, evidence-informed approach to reflective practice that supports student wellbeing, resilience and professional development while informing future educational practice across the health professions.

This project aims to transform communication skills education for undergraduate Radiation Therapy students through the implementation and evaluation of an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled simulation platform (SimConverse). Building on the success of an existing simulation-based education programme, the project addresses a recognised gap in communication skills training, where traditional role-play with lecturers and peers can limit student engagement, confidence and authentic learning experiences. The project will integrate SimConverse into the undergraduate practice education curriculum, providing students with access to realistic, interactive clinical communication scenarios in a psychologically safe and flexible learning environment. The platform offers personalised, AI-generated feedback, enabling students to practise and refine verbal and non-verbal communication skills at their own pace while supporting independent learning during both campus-based teaching and clinical placements. The project has three objectives: (1) to design and develop an online communication skills module that complements existing practice education; (2) to implement the module with second-year Radiation Therapy students to strengthen clinically relevant communication skills before and during placement; and (3) to evaluate its impact on student confidence, learning experiences and communication competency using learner feedback, clinical assessments and supervisor evaluations. By integrating generative AI into clinical education, the project seeks to create a scalable, evidence-informed model for communication skills training that complements traditional simulation and clinical placements. The platform will also provide educators with learning analytics to identify skills gaps, tailor teaching and enhance assessment. Ultimately, the project aims to improve student preparedness for clinical practice, strengthen patient-centred communication, enhance placement quality and support the development of confident, competent graduates equipped to meet the communication demands of contemporary radiation oncology practice.

This Irish Cancer Society Cancer Research Networking Award established the first Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) strategy within the Discipline of Radiation Therapy at Trinity College Dublin. Through a co-designed workshop with former radiation therapy patients, the project identified patient priorities for research, education, and clinical practice, resulting in the development of the ARTT_PPI strategy and mission statement. The initiative embedded patient voices into the Discipline's future research agenda, educational programmes, and public engagement activities, creating a sustainable framework for meaningful patient partnership. The project also strengthened collaboration between patients, researchers, and clinicians, ensuring future radiation therapy research and education are informed by lived experience and aligned with patient priorities.

This project established the Applied Radiation Therapy " Patient and Public Involvement (ARTT-PPI) initiative to strengthen patient and public involvement (PPI) in radiation therapy research and education. Funded through the Trinity PPI Ignite Festival Fund, the project aimed to empower patients, carers and the public to contribute to the development of patient-centred research priorities and educational initiatives within radiation therapy. The project combined an interactive workshop with a podcast series to raise awareness of radiation therapy, introduce the principles of patient and public involvement, and provide opportunities for participants to share their experiences and shape future research. A collaborative SWOT analysis was undertaken to identify opportunities, barriers and priorities for establishing meaningful PPI within applied radiation therapy research, while the podcast extended engagement beyond the event and created an accessible resource for patients, families and the wider community. Designed in consultation with existing patient advocacy groups, including the Irish Cancer Society, Irish Radiation Research Oncology Group and Trinity St James's Cancer Institute, the project addressed an identified gap in patient representation specific to radiation therapy. It promoted equitable participation through a hybrid, accessible format, including Irish Sign Language interpretation and adherence to health literacy principles. The project laid the foundations for the ARTT-PPI group, which has since evolved into Patients and Clinicians Together in Radiation Oncology (PACT), Ireland's national patient partnership group for radiation oncology. By embedding patient voices within research and education, the initiative established a sustainable framework for meaningful patient partnership and co-production in radiation therapy.

This educational innovation project aims to enhance undergraduate radiation therapy education through the integration of immersive virtual reality (VERT) simulation and peer-assisted learning to better prepare students for contemporary clinical practice. The project builds on a previously funded initiative that successfully embedded simulation-based learning within the curriculum to develop students' communication, patient positioning, image matching, and quality assurance skills prior to clinical placement. Evaluation of the first phase demonstrated improved student confidence, preparedness, and engagement during placement, while clinical educators reported that students required less direct supervision and were able to contribute more effectively within busy clinical environments. The second phase addresses a recognised gap in undergraduate education by introducing simulation-based training in surface-guided radiotherapy (SGRT), an increasingly important component of modern radiation therapy practice. The project will develop and embed an SGRT teaching module using the Vision RT AlignRT simulation platform, enabling students to develop core technical competencies within a safe, supportive learning environment before entering clinical placement. Peer-assisted learning will also be incorporated, with senior students acting as peer educators to support junior students' learning, reinforce their own knowledge, and promote collaborative learning and leadership skills. The project adopts a technology-enhanced, competency-based educational approach that combines immersive simulation, deliberate practice, structured feedback, and peer learning to improve clinical readiness. Educational evaluation will examine the impact of the intervention on students' confidence, technical competence, and clinical performance through pre- and post-intervention surveys, clinical assessment, and feedback from both students and clinical educators. By providing opportunities to practise complex technical procedures in a psychologically safe environment, the project seeks to strengthen students' professional capability while reducing pressure on clinical staff responsible for placement supervision. More broadly, it contributes to the development of sustainable, technology-enhanced models of clinical education that support workforce preparedness and ensure graduates are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and confidence required to meet the evolving demands of contemporary radiation oncology practice.