Teaching medical students about cancer impact through a longitudinal surgical experience: a case study

We designed and execute a longitudinal curriculum that provides a comprehensive understanding of cancer illness and its impact upon the patient.

The Harvard Medical School-Cambridge Integrated Clerkship is a redesign of the 3rd year where the traditional rotations are replaced by a single integrated year-long experience. Students are required to follow a patient with newly diagnosed gastrointestinal cancer and breast cancer, across all venues and disciplines. Twenty-nine of 34 students responded to a survey. On average patients were followed for 7 months, through 12 encounters across 4 different specialties. Students responded that this experience facilitated their understanding of cancer in a way not feasible in a traditional clerkship model.

Medical students perceive that this longitudinal model of cancer education improves integration of the surgical, medical, scientific, emotional, and social issues. Traditional "block rotation" students and even residents are rarely afforded such an educational opportunity.