Development of a surgical oncology training curriculum for accreditation

Abstract

In 2011, the American Board of Surgery announced a new specialty board certification for Complex General Surgical Oncology. The development of a 2-year fellowship training curriculum was based on the core values of multidisciplinary care, surgical management of oncologic disease, education in basic research and clinical trial design, community outreach, patient counseling, and leadership in oncology. This article highlights the elements necessary for developing a fellowship training program in the context of these core values. K E Y W O R D S ACGME board certification, Complex General Surgical Oncology, fellowship curriculum

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Student and Resident Teaching and Training in Surgical Oncology

“…Training and teaching surgical oncology for residents and fellows requires significant hands-on experiences, exposure to peri-and postoperative management of oncologic patients, rotating through different services with distinct patient populations and formal education sessions such as grand rounds and multidisciplinary tumor conferences [4,14,16].…”

“…As is known, the therapy of malignant tumors has made great progress in all disciplines involved in recent years but is becoming increasingly complex. Therefore, a thoroughly planned and conducted educational curriculum for residents and fellows is essential [14,16]. Specialized training and educational modules can ideally be prearranged by centralized organizations, such as schools of surgical oncology.…”

“…However, in addition to surgical training, theoretical and oncological knowledge and experience in a broad range of different cancer subtypes is of uttermost importance in surgical oncology [14]. Well-trained surgical oncologists must be familiar with the full spectrum of therapeutic options for a large variety of malignancies, including their use in the neo-and adjuvant settings.…”

“…This begins with the training of the next generation of doctors through special clinical traineeships and internships and goes as far as to affect specialized expert training modules offered in comprehensive cancer centers (CCC) [4,14].…”

“…Surgical oncology and cancer treatment is complex with a range of urgencies for intervention, a large variety of potential treatment options and numerous treatment sequencing options [14,16]. Several papers presented the great challenges that oncologists are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic advising about an above 3-fold risk of infection in oncological patients [17].…”