Abstract
Considering the increasing need for medical students to acquire critical appraisal skills, we have reviewed the curriculum at McGill as to where and how this subject is taught. It is apparent that critical evaluation is covered formally and informally in the course of the four years of medical school. However, this effort is limited by other demands on curriculum time. It could be extended by practical applications, utilizing opportunities arising in oncology‐related learning situations, identifiable during periods of clinical electives, clerkship and options, and laboratory research. The elements of a core curriculum to develop critical appraisal skills and a pertinent bibliography have been identified. This information will be transmitted to oncologists supervising medical students, with the intention of eventually providing it to teachers in other specialties with the hope thereby of reaching all medical students. Concurrently, means of evaluating the method and results need to be formulated.
Notes
Presented in part at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Education, Cincinnati, Ohio, October 5, 1990.
Director, Division of Medical Oncology, Montreal General Hospital and Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.
Director, Division of Surgical Oncology, Royal Victoria Hospital and Chairman, Education Committee, Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec.