Teaching surgical oncology to medical students

A recent review of the curriculum at University of Kansas Medical Center-Kansas City revealed several deficiencies in oncology teaching in the medical school curriculum. Analysis of the surgery core course final examination showed a weaker response by students to surgical oncology items than nononcologic questions. A multidisciplinary cancer course and tumor conference were then added to the surgery core curriculum. Analysis of student performance since this addition reveals that the multimodal course improved the successful response rate to surgical oncology questions on the final examination. This effect has been sustained through nine consecutive student group rotations. These results suggest that surgical oncology teaching can be effectively improved by a multidisciplinary effort.