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Breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy are at increased risk of acute care use. The incidence of emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations (H) have been characterized in other provinces but never in Alberta. We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study using administrative data of women with stage I-III breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. Rates of ED and H use in the 180 days following chemotherapy initiation were determined, and logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors. We found that 47% of women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy experienced ED or H, which compared favourably to other provinces. However, Alberta had the highest rate of febrile neutropenia-related ED visits, and among the highest chemotherapy-related ED visits. The incidence of acute care use increased over time, and there were significant institutional differences despite operating under a single provincial healthcare system. Our study demonstrates the need for systematic measurement and the importance of quality improvement programs to address this gap.

This study sought to report the degree to which postgraduate trainees in radiation oncology perceive their education has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional online survey was administered from June to July 2020 to trainee members of the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncology (CARO) ( n = 203). Thirty-four trainees responded with a 17% response rate. Just under half of participants indicated that COVID-19 had a negative/very negative impact on training ( n = 15; 46%). The majority agreed/strongly agreed that they feared family/loved ones would contract COVID-19 ( n = 29, 88%), felt socially isolated from friends and family because of COVID-19 ( n = 23, 70%), and had difficulty concentrating on tasks because of concerns about COVID-19 ( n = 17, 52%). Changes that had a negative/very negative impact on learning included limitations to travel and networking ( n = 31; 91%) and limited patient contact ( n = 19; 58%). Virtual follow-ups ( n = 25: 76%) and in-patient care activities ( n = 12; 36%) increased. Electives were cancelled in province ( n = 10; 30%), out-of-province ( n = 16; 49%), and internationally ( n = 15; 46%). Teaching from staff was moderately reduced to completely suppressed ( n = 23, 70%) and teaching to medical students was moderately reduced to completely suppressed ( n = 27, 82%). Significant changes to radiation oncology training were wrought by the pandemic, and roughly half of trainees perceive that these changes had a negative impact on training. Innovations in training delivery are needed to adapt to these new changes. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13187-022-02192-6.