The UICC/WHO-CCCE cancer education project: an Indian experience

BACKGROUND: Although India has a long history of providing excellent allopathic medical education, the knowledge about oncology is scattered all over the curriculum, losing focus, impact, and usefulness. METHOD: The World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Cancer Education at the University Medical Center, Groningen in the Netherlands designed a course for Gandhi Medical College Bhopal, which stressed on problem-based teaching of oncology. The idea of the course was to provide multidisciplinary cancer knowledge. It was aimed at cancer care in general practice by creating interaction between patients, students, and teachers, thus making the emphasis and focus of teaching student and patient centered rather then teacher centered. The aim was to assess the feasibility of problem-based teaching of oncology and its effectiveness in medical education in an Indian setting. RESULTS: The undergraduate medical students gave a positive response to this method of teaching, which according to them made various cancers not just a topic to be studied for examination but a problem for the community. We found a perceptible positive change in their knowledge and attitude toward cancer as a manageable and treatable entity. CONCLUSION: Providing cancer education in a problem-based manner is possible in a non-western country once it is adjusted to local needs