POSTER
Teaching the Fundamentals of a Medical Specialty to
Undergraduate Medical Students using the Web-based Virtual Experience in
Radiation Oncology
Joyce Nyhof-Young and Charles Hayter
ABSTRACT:
On-line resources are
playing increasingly important roles in the delivery of medical education
programs, and the use of computer-based education is making important changes
to how medical education occurs. We will
demonstrate the utilization of Internet technology to present complex concepts
in radiation oncology (RO) to undergraduate medical students. This medical
specialty involves the care of cancer patients with an emphasis on the use of
radiotherapy, and it is essential that all graduating physicians have some
knowledge of this field, given the significance of cancer as a health problem
and the widespread use of radiation therapy.
Because the
introduction of new course content of any type into an already crowded medical
curriculum is difficult, we have developed an on-line prototype of a virtual
experience in RO (http://www.bluelemonmedia.com/vero)
that will allow students to learn about this fascinating specialty from their
computer. This web site prototype
provides a multimedia environment that cannot be experienced using conventional
textbooks, supplements the traditional medical curriculum, and is perceived by
students as a useful, user friendly and interactive tool for introducing the
concepts and elements of patient-centred care in RO. Formative evaluation of the resource is
ongoing, and includes the use of focus groups and ‘think aloud’ interviews with
students and other stakeholders.
In response to user
feedback, we have produced a prototype website with 35 pages covering 17
different domains of RO practice, which will allow students: 1) to explore RO
as a possible career choice through such areas as the history of RO, research
opportunities in RO, the role of the RO in cancer care; and 2) to learn some
basic principles of RO in preparation for a clinical rotation. The learning
section of the website features modules on both pre-clinical topics (such as
basic radiobiology and physics) and clinical topics, where principles of decision-making
and treatment in RO will be illustrated through interactive case scenarios
covering the common tumour sites.
Benefits of this
website to the medical community will include greater knowledge of RO by
generalist physicians so that they may better care for their cancer patients
and made educated referrals to radiation oncologists, increased awareness by
medical students of RO as a possible career choice, and the development of
web-based educational skills by RO faculty.
We will share our
experiences with evidence-based resource development and early formative
evaluation of this website prototype in order to assist others contemplating or
developing similar projects in their own educational settings and disciplines.
BENEFIT
TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:
Instructional
designers, technology specialists, curriculum developers, students and others
interested in the development of computer-based resources in any discipline of
medical education will benefit from this demonstration. The session will encourage participants to
engage in a discussion of the value, structure and content of such resources
for medical students and the challenges and motivators of user-centred
curriculum design and evaluation in the medical setting.
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Joyce Nyhof-Young, PhD
Princess Margaret Hospital 610 University Avenue 5-312 Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M5G 2M9 Phone: 416-946-4501 X 5838 Fax: 416-946-4442 mailto:joyce.nyhof-young@uhn.on.ca
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CO-AUTHORS: Charles
Hayter, MD Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Science Centre TSRCC T wing
second floor 2075 Bayview Avenue Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4N 3M5 Phone:
416-480-5000 X 5747 Fax: 416-217-1338 mailto:charles.hayter@sw.ca |