title: What Medical Oncologist Residents Think about the Italian Speciality Schools: A Survey of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) on Educational, Clinical and Research Activities.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Relevant heterogeneity exists among Postgraduate Schools in Medical Oncology, also within the same country. In order to provide a comprehensive overview of the landscape of Italian Postgraduate Schools in Medical Oncology, the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM) undertook an online survey, inviting all the residents to describe their daily activities and to express their overall satisfaction about their programs.
  
  
  METHODS
  A team composed of five residents and three consultants in medical oncology prepared a 38 items questionnaire that was published online in a reserved section, accessible through a link sent by e-mail. Residents were invited to anonymously fill in the questionnaire that included the following sub-sections: quality of teaching, clinical and research activity, overall satisfaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three-hundred and eleven (57%) out of 547 invited residents filled in the questionnaire. Two-hundred and twenty-three (72%) participants declared that attending lessons was frequently difficult and 153 (49%) declared they did not gain substantial improvement in their knowledge from them. Fifty-five percent stated that they did not receive lessons on palliative care. Their overall judgment about didactic activity was low in 63% of the interviewed. The satisfaction for clinical activity was in 86% of cases good: 84% recognized that, during the training period, they acquired a progressive independence on patients' management. About research activity, the majority (79%) of participants in the survey was actively engaged in managing patients included in clinical trials but the satisfaction level for the involvement in research activities was quite low (54%). Overall, 246 residents (79%) gave a positive global judgment of their Medical Oncology Schools.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The landscape of Italian Postgraduate Schools in Medical Oncology is quite heterogeneous across the country. Some improvements in the organization of teaching and in the access to research opportunity are needed; the perception about clinical activity and the overall judgment of the programs are quite satisfactory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Fatebenefratelli Sacco, Presidio Ospedaliero Fatebenefratelli, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Oncology, Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Di Cremona, Presidio Ospedaliero di Cremona, Cremona, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5435-1218
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghidini
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Oncology Division, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Angelis
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, U.O. Oncologia Medica 2, IRCCS AOU San Martino-IST, Genova, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lambertini
authors.affiliation: Polo Oncologico, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Pisana University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cremolini
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imbimbo
authors.affiliation: Medical Oncology, Università Politecnica delle Marche Ospedali Riuniti di Ancona, Ancona, Italy.
authors.forename: Rossana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Università di Torino, SCDU Oncologia Medica, AOU San Luigi Gonzaga, Orbassano, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Maio
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Università degli Studi di Modena, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cascinu
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale Fatebenefratelli Sacco, Presidio Ospedaliero Fatebenefratelli, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Nicla
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: La Verde
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D035843:Biomedical Research; D004501:Education, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology; D000072103:Oncologists / Q000523:psychology*; D012577:Schools, Medical; D012955:Societies, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires