Abstract
Background. Founded in 1963, the Ivan H. Smith Memorial Studentship (ISMS) is a summer program that familiarizes students with the work of several cancer centers and aims to attract medical students into oncology. Methods. In this study, we attempted to evaluate the impact of the ISMS Program on career choice in radiation oncology (RO). Results. There were 5.9 times as many ISMS recipients from 1971 to 1981 who completed training in RO compared to the number of graduates exiting post-MD training in RO in 1989. Conclusion. Although few former ISMS students entered RO, the ISMS encourages medical students into this field. J Cancer Educ. 2008; 23:226–229.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors' appreciation is extended to the Cancer Care Ontario for funding portions of this research. Much gratitude is also given to Dianne Thurber, the director of CAPER, for making available the comparison data.
Notes
Presented at the Canadian Association of Radiation Oncologists—Association Canadienne des Radio-Oncologues (CARO-ACRO) 2005 Annual Scientific and Education Meeting, September 7–10, 2005.