Impact of a 3-Day Introductory Oncology Course on First-Year International Medical Students Leeat Granek 1 & Yuval Mizrakli 2 & Samuel Ariad 3 & Alan Jotkowitz 4 & David B. Geffen 3 # American Association for Cancer Education 2016 Abstract Although only some medical students will choose cancer as their specialty, it is essential that all students have a basic understanding of cancer and its treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of an introductory clinical oncology course on first-year international medical students. Evaluation of the course involved a quantitative sur- vey designed for this study that was given pre- and post- course completion. Participants included 29 first-year interna- tional medical students. Students reported that the course af- fected them emotionally more than they anticipated it would prior to beginning the course. By the end of the course, stu- dents felt more comfortable focusing on how to live with cancer, felt less afraid of dealing with death, and were better able to cope with uncomfortable emotional situations. The course had no significant effect on students’ interest in specializing in oncology in the future. Our study provides evidence that an introductory oncology course can increase student comfort with issues related to living with cancer, with confronting and dealing with death and dying, and with cop- ing with uncomfortable emotional situations as related to can- cer care. In anticipation of growing shortages in oncology specialists in the coming years, the ability of an early course in oncology to attract more students to the field is of interest. Future research should examine ethnic and cultural differ- ences in uptake of the clinical oncology courses across conti- nents and should use direct observation in addition to self- report in evaluating outcomes. Keywords Curriculum development/evaluation . Clinical education . Cancer treatment . Interdisciplinary medical education . Oncology . Psycho-social issues The expansion of the aging population in industrial developed countries will significantly increase the number of individuals diagnosed and treated for cancer in the coming decades [1]. Modern treatments are able to prolong survival for many pa- tients, making cancer in many cases a chronic illness that will need to be managed by all healthcare professionals, not just those who work in oncology settings [2]. As such, although only a small number of medical students will choose cancer as their specialty, it is essential that all students have a basic understanding of the modalities of cancer treatment as well as the biological, social, and psychological issues surrounding cancer and its treatment [3–7]. Most cancer-related topics at medical schools are based on core curricula outlined by cancer-related organizations [2, 3, 8, 9] and are presented to students either in a scattered module-style pedagogy, in a ded- icated inclusive oncology education block, or as a combina- tion of both approaches. Although it has become evident that Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13187-015-0972-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Leeat Granek Leeatg@gmail.com 1 Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, 84101 Beer Sheva, Israel 2 Clinical Research Center, Soroka University Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel 3 Department of Oncology, Soroka University Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel 4 Department of Medicine, Soroka University Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel J Canc Educ DOI 10.1007/s13187-015-0972-3