The objective of the Professional Oncology Education Program at the University of Alabama in Birmingham School of Medicine is to provide an organized, multidisciplinary educational program for medical students, housestaff, post-graduate physicians and other health professionals. The gradual development of a diversified program has been occurring during the last thirteen years. The oncology programs have increased in scope with involvement of increased numbers and diversity of trainees. One of the major strengths of the program has been the stability of the key professional personnel engaged in the project. In addition, new professional staff have been added to expand the programs, particularly in the undergraduated and post-graduate areas. There is need to continue support of these personnel and the current programs, so that the established multidisciplinary educational programs can continue to flourish. In addition, a major objective of the Cancer Education Committee is to assess to strengths and weaknessess of the program and to take measures to correct any identified weaknessess. The proposed Professional Oncology Education Program includes over forty established cancer-related activities for nine categories of target audience. The proposed program requests support for nine new initiatives and seven enhancements to current oncology activities. Support is requested for the following activities: (1) Expand the number of contact hours in the area of nutrition and cancer available to medical students; (2) initiate a review and analysis of test items used in the basic sciences that are related to cancer; (3) increase the amount of time in epidemiology and prevention available for residents and students; (4) provide role models to integrate psychosocial aspects of cancer into the clinical management; (5) add clerkship experiences in nutrition and cancer; (6) provide fourteen student assistantship including new areas such as Epidemiology, Radiation Biology, Nutrition, and Clinical Oncology; (7) create a new multidisciplinary Medical Oncology Conference for housestaff and fellows; (8) expand programs for nurses, nurse practioners, and other health professionals especially in nutrition support of cancer patients; and (9) provide access to academic courses in School of Public Health which provide training in and focus on cancer and epidemiology.
