Cancer knowledge and skills of interns in Australia and New Zealand in 2001: comparison with 1990, and between course types

Abstract

Objective: To compare the cancer knowledge and skills of interns in 2001 who graduated from graduate medical program (GMP) courses with those from non‐GMP courses, and to compare the cancer knowledge and skills of interns in 2001 with those who completed a similar survey in 1990. Design: Questionnaire survey of recently graduated interns in a random sample of Australian and New Zealand hospitals. The questionnaire was designed to allow direct comparison with the 1990 survey, and was guided by the Australian Cancer Society's Ideal Oncology Curriculum for Medical Schools. Results: 443 interns completed the survey (response rate, 62%; 42 were excluded, leaving 401 surveys for analysis: 118 from GMP courses and 283 from non‐GMP courses). Interns from GMP courses felt more competent than those from non‐GMP courses at discussing death (P = 0.02), breaking bad news (P = 0.04) and advising on smoking cessation (P = 0.02), but less competent at preparing a patient for a hazardous procedure (P = 0.02). More GMP interns would refer a breast cancer patient to a multidisciplinary clinic (83% versus 70%; P = 0.03). Knowledge about cancer risks and prognosis was significantly less in GMP interns, but GMP interns rated their clinical skills, such as taking a Pap smear, higher than non‐GMP interns. The GMP and non‐GMP groups did not differ in their exposure to cancer patients, but compared with 1990 interns recent graduates had less exposure to patients with cancer. Conclusions: GMP curricula appear to have successfully introduced new course material and new methods of teaching, but have not always succeeded in producing doctors with better knowledge about cancer. Recent graduates have less exposure to cancer patients than those who trained 10 years ago.

Oncology knowledge gap among freshly passed interns in a Government Medical College of Eastern India

“…In the above comparative study knowledge among students in the 1990s and 2000 from Australia, it was found the attendance in various multimodality clinics increased over a decade with increasing knowledge of multimodality therapy among undergraduates. [8] In the present study, no significant association was found between the number of classes attended and the self rated knowledge/confidence regarding role of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.…”

Assessing the knowledge and skills in clinical ophthalmology of medical interns: Survey results from Enugu, South-Eastern Nigeria

“…During internship training, trainees learn clinical skills, perform clinical procedures, develop good clinical judgment, and acquire communication skills relevant to patient care 2–6. There exists wide intra78 and inter9–12 specialty variations in interns’ clinical knowledge and skills base. The variation is attributable to disparities in undergraduate training emphasis and availability of training resources113 and differences in interns’ attitudes to learning 3.…”

“…Previous surveys of the clinical knowledge and skills of medical interns have been dominated by assessments of their general medical skills;14–69–12 skills in non-ophthalmic specialties,278 with only few studies15–18 specifically evaluating ophthalmic knowledge and skills. The paucity of ophthalmology-specific surveys despite their established usefulness in generating critical feedback on undergraduate ophthalmic curriculum planning15 is disconcerting.…”

Improvements in Undergraduate Oncology Education Introduced at Polish Medical Universities Between 2004 and 2010 Under Poland’s “National Program for Combating Neoplastic Diseases”

“…They observed that although curricula introduced a new course material, it did not produce doctors with better knowledge about cancer. They pointed out that recent students have less exposure to cancer patients than those who trained 10 years ago [12]. Cave et al carried out a questionnaire for all 5,143 newly qualified doctors in UK in 2005.…”