Vienna Summer School on Oncology: how to teach clinical decision making in a multidisciplinary environment

Abstract

BackgroundClinical decision making in oncology is based on both inter- and multidisciplinary approach. Hence teaching future doctors involved in oncology or general health practice is crucial. The aim of the Vienna Summer School on Oncology (VSSO) as an international, integrated, undergraduate oncology course is to teach medical students interdisciplinary team communication and application of treatment concepts/algorithms in a multidisciplinary setting.MethodThe teaching is based on an inter- and multidisciplinary faculty and a multimodal education approach to address different learning styles. The participants rated their satisfaction of the program voluntarily after finishing the course according to a grading scale from one (not good) to five (very good). The learning success was assessed by a compulsory pre-VSSO and post-VSSO single choice questionnaire.ResultsProgram organisation was rated with a mean score of 4.47 out of 5.0 (SD 0.51), composition of the program and range of topics with a mean score of 4.68 (SD 0.58) and all teachers with a mean score of 4.36 (SD 0.40) points. Student evaluation at the beginning and end of the program indicated significant knowledge acquisition –i.e., general aspects of cancer: median 8.75 points (IQR 7.5–9.4) vs.10.0 points (IQR 9.4–10.0) p = 0.005; specific aspects of cancer: median 4.87 points (IQR 3.33–5.71) vs. 8.72 points (IQR 6.78–9.49) p ≤ 0.001, respectively.ConclusionEven though the participants represent a selection of students with special interest in cancer, the results of the VSSO indicate the benefit of an inter- and multidisciplinary teaching approach within an oncology module.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-017-0922-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

<p>A Thorough Analysis of the Current State of Cancer Education in Medical Schools and Application of Experimental Teaching Techniques and Their Efficacy</p>

“… 57 Similarly, Lutgendorf-Caucig et al showed that the use of a summer program employing a multidisciplinary teaching approach increased knowledge in both general and specific aspects of cancer (P = 0.005 and P < 0.001). 62 …”

“…Advances in Medical Education and Practice 2020:11 approach increased knowledge in both general and specific aspects of cancer (P = 0.005 and P < 0.001). 62 Other 13 interventions were found to not fit into at least one of the categories listed above.…”

“…Lutgendorf-Caucig et al found an increase in student knowledge in both general and specific aspects of cancer (P = 0.005, P < 0.001). 62 Statistically significant increases attendees' test results (P = 0.001), student clinical and research oncology understanding (P < 0.01, P < 0.01), and comfort in daily oncology care (P = 0.001) were also observed in various other cancer-focused summer programs. [63][64][65] Students who participated in optional radiation oncology clinical rotations scored significantly higher overall on acquired knowledge.…”

Rethinking clinical decision-making to improve clinical reasoning

“…In this sense, an increased need for training and clinical knowledge along with the skill to apply the acquired knowledge is necessary. Students should learn disease pathophysiology, treatment concepts, and interdisciplinary team communication developing clinical decision-making through case-series-derived knowledge combining associative and procedural learning processes such as “Vienna Summer School on Oncology” ( 35 ).…”

The Effects of Learning Transfer on Clinical Performances Among Medical Staff: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Turk et al explored that E-Learning within CBBL framework not only facilitates the creation of up-to-date teaching content but also addresses difficulties in transforming declarative knowledge into procedural knowledge and skill (34). Lütgendorf-Caucig highlighted that the integration of different teaching modalities is beneficial for the knowledge acquisition for clinical decision making in a multidisciplinary environment like oncology (35). It has been also emphasized in other studies that CBBL is an effective way in gaining improvements in performance among medical staff and is essential for associative and procedural learning that is necessary for clinical reasoning processes (36)(37)(38)(39).…”