Abstract:
The teaching of cancer lacks the tradition other diciplines have in the medical curriculum . The rapid development of clinical oncology, led by cancer 's increasing public health importance in Brazil, has not been matched by well-established programs in the teaming process. The main question that remains to be answered is what oncological knowledge, attitudes, and skills students should have at the end of their basic undergraduate medical training. Different programs show similar problems in North American, European, and Latin American schools. It is critical to recognize a characteristics that is unique to the teaching of oncology and that distinguishes it from most other clinical and surgical courses, i.e., the fact that different cancer-related aspects are presented in practically every discipline in medical school. This results in fragmentation of information and even presentation in a contradictory manner; thereby confounding the learning process. After reviewing problems identified in different programs, the current study attempts to define objectives for the oncology teaching curriculum. We hope to motivate an extended and multidisciplinary discussion that will result in the enhancement of this proposal.
Keywords:
Medical oncology - education; Curriculum; Medical education