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Developing Canadian oncology education goals and objectives for medical students: a national modified Delphi study.

ABSTRACT: Studies have shown that there is a deficiency in focused oncology teaching during medical school in Canada. This study aimed to develop oncology education goals and objectives for medical students through consensus of oncology educators from across Canada.In 2014 we created a comprehensive list of oncology education objectives using existing resources. Experts in oncology education and undergraduate medical education from all 17 Canadian medical schools were invited to participate in a 3-round modified Delphi process. In round 1, the participants scored the objectives on a 9-point Likert scale according to the degree to which they agreed an objective should be taught to medical students. Objectives with a mean score of 7.0 or greater were retained, those with a mean score of 1.0-3.9 were excluded, and those with a mean score of 4.0-6.9 were discussed at a round 2 Web meeting. In round 3, the participants voted on inclusion and exclusion of the round 2 objectives.Thirty-four (92%) of the 37 invited oncology educators, representing 14 medical schools, participated in the study. They included oncologists, family physicians, members of undergraduate medical education curriculum committees and a psychologist. Of the 214 objectives reviewed in round 1, 146 received a mean score of 7.0 or greater, and 68 were scored 4.0-6.9; no objective received a mean score below 4.0. Nine new objectives were suggested. The main themes of participants' comments were to minimize the number of objectives and to aim objectives at the knowledge level required for family physicians. In round 2, the participants were able to combine 28 of the objectives with other existing objectives. In round 3, 7 of the 49 objectives received consensus of at least 75% for inclusion. The final Canadian Oncology Goals and Objectives for Medical Students contained 10 goals and 153 objectives.Through a systematic process, we created a comprehensive, consensus-based set of oncology goals and objectives to facilitate the design of undergraduate medical education curricula and improve oncology education for medical students.

SUBMITTER: Tam VC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5047803 | biostudies-other | 2016 Jul-Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Developing Canadian oncology education goals and objectives for medical students: a national modified Delphi study.

Tam Vincent C VC Ingledew Paris-Ann PA Berry Scott S Verma Sunil S Giuliani Meredith E ME

CMAJ open 20160714 3

<h4>Background</h4>Studies have shown that there is a deficiency in focused oncology teaching during medical school in Canada. This study aimed to develop oncology education goals and objectives for medical students through consensus of oncology educators from across Canada.<h4>Methods</h4>In 2014 we created a comprehensive list of oncology education objectives using existing resources. Experts in oncology education and undergraduate medical education from all 17 Canadian medical schools were in ...[more]

PMID: 27730100

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Project description:BackgroundMost oncology trainees are not taught about the needs of older patients, who make up the majority of patients with cancer. Training of health care providers is critical to improve the care of older adults with cancer. There is no consensus about which geriatric oncology (GO) competencies are important for medical oncology trainees. Our objective was to identify GO competencies medical oncology trainees should acquire during training.Materials and methodsA modified Delphi consensus of experts in oncology medical education and GO was conducted. Experts categorized at what training stage proposed competencies should be attained: internal medicine, oncology, or GO training. Consensus was obtained if two thirds of experts agreed on the training stage at which the competency should be attained.ResultsA total of 78 potential competencies were identified, of which 35 (44.9%) proposed competencies were felt to be appropriate to be acquired during oncology training. The majority of the identified competencies pertained to prescribing of systemic therapy (n = 12) and psychosocial and supportive care (n = 13). No competencies related to geriatric assessment were identified for acquisition during oncology training.ConclusionExperts in oncology education and geriatric oncology agreed upon a set of GO competencies appropriate for oncology trainees. These results provide the foundation for developing a GO curriculum for medical oncology trainees and will hopefully lead to better care of older adults with cancer.Implications for practiceThe aging population will drive the projected rise in cancer incidence. Although aging patients make up the majority of patients diagnosed with cancer, oncologists rarely receive training on how to care for them. Training of health care providers is critical to improving the care of older adults with cancer. The results of this study will help form the foundation of developing a geriatric oncology curriculum for medical oncology trainees.

Project description:IntroductionExercise is vital to health and well-being after a cancer diagnosis yet is poorly integrated in cancer care. Knowledge mobilization (KM) is essential to enhance exercise opportunities. We aimed to (1) develop and refine a list of highly important exercise oncology research and KM themes and (2) establish the relative importance of the themes for supporting the implementation of exercise as a standard of care for people living with and beyond cancer.MethodsInformed by the Co-Produced Pathway to Impact KM framework, a modified Delphi study approach was used to develop, rate, and rank exercise oncology research and KM themes through an international stakeholder workshop and a three-round iterative online survey. Open-ended stakeholder feedback from cancer survivors, healthcare practitioners (HCPs), qualified exercise professionals (QEPs), policy makers, and researchers was used to update themes between survey rounds. Themes were ranked from highest to lowest importance and agreement was examined across all stakeholders and within stakeholder groups.ResultsA total of 269 exercise oncology stakeholders from 13 countries participated in the study. Twelve final exercise oncology research and KM themes were produced. The final top ranked research themes were related to: (1) QEP integration into primary cancer care teams, (2) Exercise oncology education for HCPs, and (3) Accessibility of cancer exercise programs & support services. There was statistically significant agreement between stakeholders (p<0.001) and within stakeholder groups (p's≤0.02) on the general rankings of themes (i.e., some themes generally ranked higher and lower compared to others). Low Kendall's W statistics indicated variability related to the specific ranked order of the themes between stakeholders and within stakeholder groups. Moreover, there were key differences in the rankings for specific themes between policy makers and other stakeholder groups that highlight potentially important discordance in the research and KM priorities for policy makers that warrants further study.ConclusionThese findings can be used to guide initiatives and align stakeholders on priorities to support exercise implementation as a standard of cancer care. Additional research is needed to better understand the differences in the proposed research and KM priorities across stakeholders.

Project description:PurposeDigitalization of medical education is an important trend in terms of reforming and modernizing the global education environment. It has been long requested by students and politicians. The goal of this study was to assess the student perception of a newly developed digital educational program in radiation oncology (RO) using an interactive e‑book combined with short learnings clips on a YouTube channel combined with periodic videoconferences and a forum for queries.MethodsWe performed five evaluations during and at the end of two terms with multiple-choice and free-text answers. We evaluated student perception of our new digital learning scenario in three semesters: one pre-clinical and two clinical semesters. In addition, we analyzed all comments from the kMED forum, the YouTube channel, or the e‑mail contacts. We analyzed the learning behavior of the students based on access to the videos and the number and quality of the reflective questions answered as well as the results of the final examinations.ResultsThe students accepted the offer for asynchronous teaching and mainly learned on weekdays (74% of the videos), but also on weekends (23%) and less on public holidays (4%). The answer quality of the reflective questions was good with over 50% correct answers on the first attempt. Learning to be on one's own authority was very difficult for the students, even in the last clinical semesters of the medical study. Without direct intervention by the teacher, access to the learning material by the students was limited and delayed. Therefore, voluntary interim tests were performed during the first analysis term, which led to an increased number of student accesses to the videos and higher number of answers. Nevertheless, in the first analysis term, the average results in the final exam of the students who did not perform the interim test were below average at 59.1%, and the students who performed the test had better results at 69.5% but this was also not satisfactory. In the second analysis term, we taught with the same digital teaching model but with an additional scheme for learning over the term, 2‑week compulsory intermediate tests, and frequent videoconferences to answer any questions. In this term, we measured a success rate of 93% in the final exam. All annotations were very positive regarding the new educational project. The evaluations showed high acceptance of the new education program. The students stated they would prefer the new education course to be continued in future.ConclusionDigital teaching methods make not only the type and quality of teaching transparent, but also the learning behavior of the students. Our analysis has shown that, in addition to the quality of the teaching, the clear structure and specification of the learning content per learning week as well as regular monitoring of what has been learned are of decisive importance for the learning success of the students.

Project description:Background:Complex treatment, care and rehabilitation require continuous healthcare professional development and maintenance of competencies in collaboration with other professionals. Interprofessional education in childhood cancer involves several groups of healthcare professionals with both general and specific knowledge and skills. Objective:To establish consensus on content and interprofessional learning objectives for an interprofessional education in childhood cancer. Design:A three-round Delphi survey in Scandinavian childhood cancer departments. Participants:Healthcare professionals appointed by their head of departments and head nurses based on their profession and their involvement in continuing professional development. Main outcome measures:A prioritised list of interprofessional learning objectives with a mean score of ?3 on a five-point scale (1=not relevant, 5=extremely relevant). Results:12 childhood cancer departments participated with 30 healthcare professionals: 11 nurses, 10 medical doctors, 5 social workers, 2 physiotherapists and 2 pedagogues. In total, 28 (93%), 25 (83%) and 22 (73%) completed the first, second and third round, respectively. In the first round, we asked open-ended questions and used directed content analysis to analyse 386 statements. We formulated 170 interprofessional learning objectives in six categories: (1) acute life-threatening situations, (2) gastrointestinal toxicities and side effects, (3) pain, (4) palliation, (5) play and activity, and (6) prescription and administration of medicine. The second round resulted in 168 interprofessional learning objectives receiving a mean score of ?3 on a five-point scale. Final agreement in the third round resulted in a prioritised list of 168 learning objectives. Conclusions:Consensus on content and interprofessional learning objectives for an interprofessional education in childhood cancer was established across five groups of healthcare professionals in three countries. Some learning objectives are generic and can be applied in settings other than childhood cancer, where healthcare professionals collaborate to provide patients and families optimal treatment and care.

Project description:BackgroundDespite explicit policies and reporting mechanisms in academia designed to prevent harassment and ensure respectful environments, sexual harassment persists. We report on a national survey of Canadian medical students' experiences of sexual harassment perpetrated by faculty, patients and peers, their responses to harassment, and their suggestions for improving the learning environment.MethodsWith ethics approval from all 17 Canadian universities with medical schools, an invitation to participate in an anonymous, electronic survey was included in three Canadian Federation of Medical Students' newsletters (2016). Narrative information about sexual harassment during medical training, perpetrators, ways of coping, sources of support, formal and informal reporting/discussion, and suggestions for change was sought. Three authors then conducted a qualitative analysis and identified emergent themes.FindingsWhen asked to estimate the number of occurrences of SH experienced during medical school, 188 students reported 807 incidents perpetrated by peers, patients, and, to a lesser extent, faculty. Perpetrators were almost always men and 98% of victims were women. What emerged was a picture of social, educational, and individual conditions under which sexual harassment becomes normalised by faculty, peers and victims. Students often tried to ignore harassment despite finding it confusing, upsetting, and embarrassing. They offered strategies for schools to raise awareness, support students, and prevent or mitigate harms going forward.InterpretationSexual harassment is a part of the Canadian medical education environment where most who reported harassment are subject to the dual vulnerabilities of being learners and women. Although survey respondents recognised the systemic nature of the problem, as individuals they often described shame and self-blame when victimised, came up with solutions that implied they were the problem, and often reported thinking silence was less risky than confrontation or official reporting. Many participants believed in the transformative power of education - of themselves and faculty - as a means of improving the medical environment whilst we await social change.

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Developing Canadian oncology education goals and objectives for medical students: a national modified Delphi study.

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Developing Canadian oncology education goals and objectives for medical students: a national modified Delphi study.

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