Dr John Green is Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Translational Medicine.
Many people’s lives are touched by cancer with one in three people developing cancer in the UK and one in four dying from the disease.
When the disease first presents as an emergency, or unplanned complications of therapy are found, the disease can be more distressing. Specialist acute oncology teams have been established in District General Hospitals across the UK, and are linked to cancer centres to diagnose and treat emergency oncology situations more effectively.
The UK has unique partnerships between the government, charities, the NHS and Universities, and is therefore well placed to capitalise on the available expertise from a range of professional groups. Healthcare UK has been set up to help to coordinate commercial opportunities, and works through Academic Health Science Centres such as Liverpool Health Partners.
Supporting training
Liverpool has led the development of this subspecialty, and has established teams in the eight District General Hospitals which are all linked to the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre.
To aid the training and development of those within oncology, we have developed the first online acute oncology module in the UK. From September 2014, a modified version of this will also be piloted in India. With a population of 1.2bn and a growth rate exceeding 13% served by 0.7m doctors, the Indian government is committed to expanding services to cater for the growing need for medical provision, of which cancer is a major component.
The eight week online module consists of content created by clinical experts in the field and is combined with state of the art pedagogical techniques to facilitate interactive discussion between students.
Courses in the UK and India
The UK course is fully accredited, whereas the Indian course incorporates continuous self-assessment. Both modules ensure candidates reflect critically on their own practice and evaluate current protocols and processes with reference to appropriate literature. Personal reflection takes the form of entries into a learning diary.
This team that developed the module, including the Institute of Translational Medicine and the Institute of Learning and Teaching, has worked in partnership with other academics and clinicians from the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences and Clatterbridge Cancer Centre to produce the online Acute Oncology module.
Online provision of education and training is an opportunity that we are keen to develop further in the future, both for the UK and overseas markets.
For further details about the module and how to register please email: iltcpd@liv.ac.uk