Medical Student Perspectives on Undergraduate Oncology Education in the UK

Heritage, Sophie; Lynch-Kelly, Katharine; Kalvala, Jahnavi; Tulloch, Ross; Devasar, Abeera; Harewood, J.; Khoury, Emma; Abdelwahed, Aida; Fung, A.; Bigogno, Carola Maria; Gray, Robert D.; Keshwara, Sumirat M; Joseph, Prince Josiah; Selby, Peter J.; Tharmalingam, H.

doi:10.1016/j.clon.2022.04.011

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A key theme that emerged from this study was poor exposure to oncology throughout medical education, particularly for clinical medical students and junior doctors, consistent with previous reports [ 5 - 7 ]. Early exposure to specialties within medical education drives interest in that specialty and ultimately career selection and formation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

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Benefits of Mentoring in Oncology Education for Mentors and Mentees: Pre-Post Interventional Study of the British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies' National Oncology Mentorship Scheme

Fulton-Ward¹,

Bain²,

Khoury³

et al. 2023

JMIR Med Educ

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Background Formal education of oncology is lacking in many undergraduate medical curricula. Mentoring schemes can expose participants to specific areas of medicine and may address the shortfalls in oncology education. Few mentoring schemes have been designed within the United Kingdom, especially within oncology. There is a need to understand reasons for mentor and mentee participation in such schemes and to identify ways to minimize barriers to engagement. Objective This study identifies motivations for participation in an oncology mentoring scheme and its benefits and limitations to both the mentee and the mentor. Methods The British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies launched a National Oncology Mentorship Scheme (NOMS) on September 1, 2021. Mentees (medical student or foundation doctor) were paired with mentors (specialty registrar or consultant), for 6 months of mentoring. In total, 86 mentors and 112 mentees were recruited to the scheme. The mentees and mentors were asked to meet at least 3 times during this period and suggestions were provided on the content of mentoring. Mentees and mentors were invited to complete a prescheme questionnaire, exploring motivations for involvement in the scheme, current experiences within oncology, and knowledge and interests in the field. At the end of the scheme, mentors and mentees were asked to complete a postscheme questionnaire exploring experiences and benefits or limitations of participation. Paired analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. For free text data, content analysis was applied to summarize the main themes in the data. Results Of the 66 (59%) mentees who completed the prescheme questionnaire, 41 (62%) were clinical, 21 (32%) preclinical medical students, and the remainder were junior doctors. For mentees, networking was the primary reason for joining the scheme (n=25, 38%). Mentees ranked experience of oncology at medical school at 3 on 10 (IQR 2-5). In this, 46 (53%) mentors completed the prescheme questionnaire, 35 (76%) were registrar level, and the remainder were consultant level (n=11). The most common reason for mentor participation was to increase awareness and interest in the field (n=29, 63%). Of those who completed the prescheme questionnaire, 23 (35%) mentees and 25 (54%) mentors completed the postscheme questionnaire. Knowledge in all areas of oncology assessed significantly increased during the scheme (P<.001). Most mentees (n=21, 91%) and mentors (n=18, 72%) felt they had benefited from the scheme. Mentees cited gaining insights into oncology as most beneficial; and mentors, opportunities to develop professionally. Whilst mentees did not report any barriers to participating in the scheme, mentors stated lack of time as the greatest barrier to mentoring. Conclusions British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies’ NOMS is expanding and is beneficial for mentees through increasing knowledge, providing exposure, and career advice in oncology. Mentors benefit from improving their mentoring skills and personal satisfaction.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Cancer is considered a key area of practice within the incoming UK medical licensing assessment (UKMLA) [ 4 ]. There is underrepresentation of oncology within the taught curriculum and students consider oncology teaching and exposure to be lacking [ 5 - 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefits of Mentoring in Oncology Education for Mentors and Mentees: Pre-Post Interventional Study of the British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies' National Oncology Mentorship Scheme

Fulton-Ward¹,

Bain²,

Khoury³

et al. 2023

JMIR Med Educ

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“…Students, faculty, clinicians, physicians, insurers, healthcare practitioners etc. are not all yet ready to implement the advances of Precision Medicine (PM) [78,79] Integrate PM into the curriculum and ensure every student and physician is trained in the use of medical and pharmacogenomic data and its applications Mostly in pharmacology and in few medical programs the curricula are to be further modified to include Precision Medicine Small amount of teaching time is dedicated to training in precision medicine overall [21,80] Lessen any disparities in access to genomic medicine and genetic counseling…”

Section: Facts-top Priorities Goals Actionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing precision medicine in medical education: Integrated, precise and data‐driven smart solutions

Papadopoulou

Lytras

2023

Applied Research

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Advances in “Precision Medicine” initiative, also known as “Personalized Medicine” is an emerging approach for disease treatment and prevention that has already led to innovative discoveries and has created “smart” applications and solutions tailored to a person's or a group of individuals' genetic profile, lifestyle, and environment interaction. Already many physicians as part of patient care routinely prescribe various molecular/genetic and other tests enabling them to select personalized treatments that improve the chances of survival and reduce exposure to adverse effects. This initiative should provide to medical and healthcare professionals with adequate resources and readily available solutions so that the target to specific treatments and care of the illnesses is achieved while at the same time protecting the privacy and safety of the individual is secured as well as the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and whatever additional data is necessary within the context of Precision Medicine. This study, through a literature review mostly, and some case study analysis, examine whether personalized medicine is delivered to the patient in an “accurate” and “precise” way, as expected. This requires that Health and Human Services and other stakeholders and agencies collaborate to solicit the right input from patients while at the same time can identify and address any educational, practical, legal, and technical issues and providing smart solutions. The lack of proper medical education and advanced infrastructure are still major barriers to the adoption of Precision Medicine, therefore, the role of medical training in Precision Medicine is also examined and analyzed. Specific examples are discussed in an integrated, precise, and data‐driven manner to provide “smart” solutions.

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Impact of a National Virtual Oncology Course on Medical Student Competency and Interest in Oncology

Dou,

Du,

Alfieri

et al. 2024

J Canc Educ

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Medical Student Perspectives on Undergraduate Oncology Education in the UK

Cited by 6 publications

References 23 publications

Benefits of Mentoring in Oncology Education for Mentors and Mentees: Pre-Post Interventional Study of the British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies' National Oncology Mentorship Scheme

Benefits of Mentoring in Oncology Education for Mentors and Mentees: Pre-Post Interventional Study of the British Oncology Network for Undergraduate Societies' National Oncology Mentorship Scheme

Advancing precision medicine in medical education: Integrated, precise and data‐driven smart solutions

Impact of a National Virtual Oncology Course on Medical Student Competency and Interest in Oncology

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