Cancer education for the generalist physician.
OBJECTIVE
The care of cancer patients has become increasingly complex and multidisciplinary while more responsibility for cancer care has been shifted to primary care physicians. We developed a medical student educational program to teachfuture primary care physicians about care of cancer patients.


METHODS
The Multidisciplinary Oncology Clerkship was designed for fourth-year medical students planning to enter primary care residencies. The clerkship hasfive major components: ambulatory patient care, multidisciplinary conferences, skill stations, problem-based learning in small groups, and supervised objective structured clinical examinations. Learning during the clerkship was evaluated with knowledge tests before, immediately after, and 6 months after the clerkship.


RESULTS
Twenty-four students participated in the first year of the clerkship. Program evaluation revealed that the students' scores on the knowledge test rose 40% between the pre-clerkship and post-clerkship tests. Retesting at 6 months demonstrated knowledge retention of 90%.


CONCLUSIONS
Multidisciplinary cancer education, using the combination of problem-based learning, skill stations, clinical exposure, and standardized patients, increases the cancer-care knowledge of medical students dedicated to a career in primary care.
Smith
J L
JL
Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA. judy.smith@roswellpark.org
D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D003479:Curriculum; D005194:Family Practice; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology; D015397:Program Evaluation