Advancing Multidisciplinary Oncology Education: Implementing a novel “Frontiers in Neoplasia” curriculum to engage fourth-year medical students in evidence-based, multidisciplinary cancer care

Summary: Evidence-based, multidisciplinary oncology care curriculum is lacking in undergraduate medical education [1,2,3]. The Frontiers in Neoplasia course was designed for fourth-year medical students. This four-week course included didactic lectures, interactive site visits, and team-based simulations of tumor boards and clinical trial design. The radiation oncology site visit included an introduction to radiation oncology followed by case-based discussion of radiation oncology treatment options. This was completed by a tour of the department including a simulation and an adaptive treatment. The course was virtual in 2021-2022 due to COVID-19 and then offered in the hybrid format in 2023-2024. The study received IRB exemption. To analyze the course’s impact, students’ pre- and post-course responses to Likert-scale clinical evidence questions were analyzed using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Students’ general course feedback was analyzed using thematic coding analysis. 107 students enrolled in the study (top residency applications were 32% surgery, 24% internal medicine and 5% radiation oncology). 94 and 96 students completed the pre-survey and the post-survey. 97% indicated they would choose the course again or recommend it to a friend. Students felt more comfortable formulating patient-relevant clinical questions and accessing the literature to solve those questions (4[4, 5] vs 5[4, 5], p < .001), critically evaluating the oncologic literature and feeling equipped to stay up-to-date in the literature (4[3, 4] vs 5[4, 5], p < .001), and understanding where the field is heading in the future (4[3, 4] vs 5[4, 5], p < .001). The students had varied interests but overall were also more likely to follow oncology literature in the future (4[4, 5] vs 5[4, 5], p < .001). The students who took the course in 2023-2024 appreciated the on-site visits more than the virtual group in 2021-2022. Our novel oncology curriculum significantly increased students’ confidence in navigating emerging approaches to cancer care. This course can be offered as part of an undergraduate medical education curriculum. Mayuri H. Vaish (she/her/hers), B.A. (Presenting Author) - UT Southwestern Medical Center, School of Medicine; Cole Ferguson (he/him/his), B.S. (Co-Author) - UT Southwestern Medical Center, School of Medicine; Curtis Liu (he/him/his), B.A. (Co-Author) - UT Southwestern Medical Center, School of Medicine; Radhika Kainthla (she/her/hers), M.D. (Co-Author) - UT Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Medical Oncology; Kiran A. Kumar (he/him/his), M.D. (Co-Author) - UT Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Radiation Oncology; Samira Syed (she/her/hers), M.D. (Co-Author) - UT Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Medical Oncology; Mona Arbab (she/her/hers), M.D. (Co-Author) - UT Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Radiation Oncology