Teaching Oncology in the Medical Degree: Integrating Knowledge and Experience of a Multidisciplinary Tumour Board

Cancer is recognised as a major health problem that requires a multidisciplinary approach to achieve the best possible outcomes. The rapid and important changes in the understanding of cancer need to be incorporated into clinical practice. Because of both the magnitude and pace of these changes, medical schools must also assess and update the level of knowledge and skills that need to be taught in oncology training. Multidisciplinary tumour boards (MTB) integrate the knowledge of various healthcare disciplines, assuring treatment according to the best available evidence or multidisciplinary consensus. However, these attributes are not sufficiently integrated into the curricula of Spanish medical schools. To fill this gap, specific seminars were designed and implemented during the medical degree programme at the University of Granada (Spain), over two academic years for 510 students. The first group focused on integrating knowledge in the field of oncology, while the second group focused on the purpose of the MTB in clinical practice and its role in decision-making in specific tumour cases. All the seminars included real cases of patients with medium-complexity tumours, along with the clinical practice guidelines from a university hospital as a reference. After two years of development, the initiative has been evaluated (15-items survey), with a high level of satisfaction among students and teachers, but awaiting the collection of objective learning outcomes. This article describes the seminars, along with how they were organized. and discusses the value of introducing validated pedagogical techniques. The incorporation of well-received pedagogical innovations, such as team-based and small-group teaching, together with 'flipped classroom' techniques, focuses both on students' individual knowledge and ability to interact with others.