Principles of oncology taught in a one-week course

BACKGROUND: Growing challenges in oncology require evolving educational methods and content. International efforts to reform oncology education are underway. Hands-on, interdisciplinary, and compact course formats have shown great effectiveness in the education of medical students. Our aim was to establish a new interdisciplinary one-week course on the principles of oncology using state-of-the-art teaching methods. METHODS: In an initial survey, medical students of LMU Munich were questioned about their current level of knowledge on the principles of oncology. In a second two-stage survey, the increase in knowledge resulting from our recently established interdisciplinary one-week course was determined. RESULTS: The medical students’ knowledge of clinically important oncological topics, such as the diagnostic workup and interdisciplinary treatment options, showed a need for improvement. Knowledge of the major oncological entities was also in an expandable state. By attending the one-week course on the principles of oncology, students improved their expertise in all areas of the clinical workup in oncology and had the opportunity to close previous knowledge gaps. In addition, students were able to gain more in-depth clinical knowledge on the most common oncological entities. CONCLUSION: The interdisciplinary one-week course on the principles of oncology proved to be an effective teaching method to expand the knowledge of the future physicians to an appropriate level. With its innovative and interdisciplinary approach, the one-week course could be used as a showcase project for the ongoing development of medical education in Germany.