Enhancing medical student interest in the oncologic fields via a novel third year elective

Abstract

<h3>Background</h3> Medical student exposure to oncology specialties during medical training is limited. Radiation Oncology specifically is a field that lacks its own third year clerkship and is oftentimes only offered as an optional elective rotation during medical school. At our institution, we piloted a multidisciplinary oncology elective rotation that is available to third year medical students to expose them to the paradigms of oncologic treatment. <h3>Methods</h3> We developed a two-week rotation consisting of three days of Radiation Oncology clinic, two days of Radiation Oncology didactics, and the remaining five days of Medical Oncology and Surgical Oncology clinic. A pre- and post-survey graded on a 5-point Likert scale was given to all participating medical students prior to starting the rotation and then again at the end of the rotation respectively. The rotation focused on diagnosis, patient interaction, treatment planning, and the multidisciplinary collaboration between the oncology specialties with an emphasis on Radiation Oncology. <h3>Results</h3> Seven students chose to enroll in our multidisciplinary oncology elective rotation from July 2021 through December 2021. All students who enrolled successfully completed the rotation. Survey response rate was 100%. Average scores on the 5-point Likert scale increased from 1.57 to 2.43 (p=0.0001) for ability to perform a patient workup, 2.43 to 3.07 (p=0.0445) for comfort level with communication with oncology patients, 1.45 to 3.21 (p= 0.0001) for level of understanding of radiation therapy, and 1.14 to 3.21 (p= 0.001) for comprehension of the role of multidisciplinary collaboration. Each student was also asked to grade their level of interest in oncology as a future career. Initially, three students (43%) expressed interest in oncology. Following completion of the rotation, this increased to four students (57%). Of the three students who originally expressed interest in oncology, one student became undecided by the end of the rotation. <h3>Discussion</h3> It is important to expose medical students to oncology specialties during their third year of medical school to foster interest and growth in our field and to recruit passionate future oncologists. A multidisciplinary rotation encompassing Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology, and Radiation Oncology allows students to increase their understanding of the collaboration necessary in treating cancer patients. Our goal in the future is to standardize this rotation to allow widespread reach to medical students nationwide.