Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education
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The development of the specialty of palliative medicine has produced variable activity in the field of medical education. This article reviews published papers (primarily from Europe but with reference to other countries) identifies the extent of activity, and notes the absence of evaluative work. Undergraduate and postgraduate activity is identified.
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Delphi technique is a method of structuring group communication and is useful in achieving consensus on goals, plans, or positions. The Delphi technique was used to determine a course of action to enhance cancer education at each of eight medical schools in Texas. Participants in this study were deans of medicine and a faculty member considered to be the lead cancer expert in the curriculum. ⋯ The Delphi technique was found to be an effective approach for increasing awareness of the statewide cancer plan, for involving all medical schools in achieving the goals of the plan, and for identifying means for enhancing cancer education at each medical school. A consensus was reached to develop a statewide standardized assessment of graduating medical students' knowledge about principles of cancer prevention and screening. The results could serve as a means of determining cancer education needs at each medical school.
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This course describes a 7-week, one-and-one-half-hour per week course on Death and Dying and examines its impact on medical students' attitudes. The 30 participants were tested on attitudes about death and dying pre- and post-course. ⋯ The Semantic Differential technique was used to measure the pre- and post-course attitudes toward "treating the dying patient" and "dealing with the dying patient's family." There was a decrease in anxiety about death and dying when the posttest was compared with the pretest on the anxiety scales, with death of self and death of others reaching significance (p = .04 and .04). There was a decrease in anxiety scores on the Semantic Differential on treating the dying patient and dealing with the dying patient's family (p = less than .001 for both).
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There is a paucity of data on variables predictive of successful smoking cessation in cancer patients. In this questionnaire-based study, we report the smoking status of 75 patients (46 men, 29 women) with head and neck cancer followed for a minimum of 30 months after definitive therapy. Seventy-one percent of the men and 61% of the women who were current smokers at diagnosis stopped smoking subsequent to diagnosis and treatment. ⋯ In addition, older age, college education, and lighter smoking habits were somewhat predictive of successful cessation. Fear of recurrent disease and physician advice were the questionnaire-listed incentives most often chosen as contributing to success in cessation. The role health professionals can play in counseling cancer patients to stop smoking is stressed.