title: Needs assessment of palliative care education in gynecologic oncology fellowship: we're not teaching what we think is most important.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to characterize gynecologic oncology fellowship directors' perspectives on (1) inclusion of palliative care (PC) topics in current fellowship curricula, (2) relative importance of PC topics and (3) interest in new PC curricular materials.
  
  
  METHODS
  An electronic survey was distributed to fellowship directors, assessing current teaching of 16 PC topics meeting ABOG/ASCO objectives, relative importance of PC topics and interest in new PC curricular materials. Descriptive and correlative statistics were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Response rate was 63% (29/46). 100% of programs had coverage of some PC topic in didactics in the past year and 48% (14/29) have either a required or elective PC rotation. Only 14% (4/29) have a written PC curriculum. Rates of explicit teaching of PC topics ranged from 36% (fatigue) to 93% (nausea). Four of the top five most important PC topics for fellowship education were communication topics. There was no correlation between topics most frequently taught and those considered most important (rs=0.11, p=0.69). All fellowship directors would consider using new PC curricular materials. Educational modalities of greatest interest include example teaching cases and PowerPoint slides.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Gynecologic oncology fellowship directors prioritize communication topics as the most important PC topics for fellows to learn. There is no correlation between which PC topics are currently being taught and which are considered most important. Interest in new PC curricular materials is high, representing an opportunity for curricular development and dissemination. Future efforts should address identification of optimal methods for teaching communication to gynecologic oncology fellows.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. Electronic address: caseylefkowitscj@upmc.edu.
authors.forename: Carolyn
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lefkowits
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Paniti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sukumvanich
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Section of Palliative Care & Medical Ethics, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Rene
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Claxton
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Madeleine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Courtney-Brooks
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Magee-Womens Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kelley
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: McNeil
authors.affiliation: Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Vincent Obstetrics and Gynecology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Annekathryn
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goodman
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods*; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D006176:Gynecology / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D008495:Medical Oncology / Q000193:education*; D020380:Needs Assessment; D065126:Palliative Medicine / Q000193:education*
keywords: Communication; Education; Palliative care