ABSTRACT #3

Oncology Curriculum For Internal Medicine Residents

Sophie Sohval, Rima Patel, Eileen Scigliano

PURPOSE AND GOALS: Internal medicine (IM) residents who rotate through inpatient oncology services are most often exposed to liquid malignancies. While familiarity with these cancers is certainly useful, these patients are often higher acuity and management can be difficult both intellectually and emotionally. Previous studies have shown that rotations through inpatient medical oncology services do not appear to increase resident interest in the field. Residents may therefore benefit from an inpatient curriculum that includes topics in solid oncology. The goal of this project is to create a case-based oncology curriculum for IM residents, with subjects rooted in solid oncology, with the prediction that it may spark more interest in the field and increase comfortability with the subject matter.

METHODS: On prior needs assessment, topics in which residents reported lack of comfort in management included several hematologic/oncologic emergencies, side effects of chemotherapies and immunotherapies, and how to work up a new concerning mass. Residents further demonstrated preference for case-based learning over traditional lecture models. Based on these concepts, a series of case-based lectures will be created, entitled: “Heme/Onc Emergencies”, “Neutropenic Fever Management”, “Workup of New Mass”, “Introduction to Immunotherapy”, “Introduction to Chemotherapy”, and “Language of Oncology”. Lectures will utilize a standardized design layout, contain 3 cases each, and will be approximately 30 minutes in duration.

Current hematology/oncology fellows will deliver these lectures to IM residents at Mount Sinai West (MSW), which has an inpatient oncology rotation, during the residents’ noon conference.

EVALUATION PLAN: Surveys will be given to residents before and after each lecture. These will include questions focusing on knowledge assessment, comfort level, and interest in the field of oncology. Pre- and post-survey results will be compared to assess whether lectures were effective in their educational objectives and their impact on resident interest in the field of oncology.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS: The curriculum is currently being designed and we plan to implement it at MSW in Spring 2023. We expect that inpatient exposure to content related to solid and outpatient oncology will increase interest in the field. We further expect that creating a case-based curriculum tailored to reported knowledge gaps will increase residents’ comfort levels with managing various oncologic issues.

REFLECTIVE CRITIQUE: This curriculum is based on a prior needs assessment highlighted topics in oncology that IM residents felt uncomfortable managing. Some limitations stem from the initial needs assessment survey, which only sampled a small number (n=35) of residents. Additionally, these lectures are designed to be shared and taught by different educators, and effectiveness may therefore vary by educator. Further, not all IM residents rotate through oncology floors at MSW, and the curriculum thus may not be as accessible to the entire residency.