Abstract
Background. The increasing prevalence of cancer has necessitated new strategies to teach oncology to medical students. Methods. The authors created a weekly student‐staffed medical oncology clinic, coordinated by oncology nurses and closely supervised by medical oncology and radiation therapy attending physicians. Results. From September 1996 to June 1997, this clinic met 38 times and cared for a total of 54 cancer patients with a variety of tumor types. Twenty‐eight patients received chemotherapy and 93 cycles were prescribed (average of 1.74 cycles/patient), according to institutional protocols. No complication due to an error in prescribing chemotherapy was recorded. Answers to a questionnaire by the students involved revealed that over 90% of them rated the clinic as the most interesting ambulatory clinic experience they had had, and 81 % also felt that attending the clinic had helped them with other subjects pertaining to the internal medicine core curriculum. The patients’ satisfaction, measured by a visual scale, exceeded 90%. Conclusions. Teaching medical students to care directly for cancer patients, including those receiving chemotherapy, is feasible and provides them with an effective and valid learning opportunity in oncology and in internal medicine.