Description

The Division of Medical Oncology at Mayo includes 38 full-time medical oncologists who see a wide variety of malignant neoplasms in both outpatient and inpatient settings. Students see patients in various stages of malignant disease and have an opportunity to actively participate in discussions concerning the evaluation and assessment of new drugs and modalities in the management of patients with malignant disease. The clerkship is designed so students work one-on-one with residents and staff consultants within the Division of Medical Oncology. Experience is provided in outpatient settings.

Specific goals

1. Accept, by direct experience, the value of an integrated multidisciplinary approach to the cancer patient.
2. Outline the steps and clinical staging of the major neoplastic diseases and be competent to decide whether surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy might be the most appropriate treatment for an individual problem.
3. Recognize the major systemic and paraneoplastic complications of cancer, and outline appropriate management.
4. Communicate effectively with patients and their families who have potentially curable malignancies, with those who can benefit from palliative management and with those who are dying from cancer.
5. Recognize the early and late side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and outline appropriate management.
6. Select appropriate therapeutic agents for patients with advanced malignancy and recognize the limiting side effects of each.

Activity outline

Morning (AM)

Afternoon (PM)

Method of evaluation

Staff members provide MedHub evaluations of students at the end of the elective.

Per Mayo Clinic institutional policy, faculty and residents/fellows will not complete any outside evaluations. You will be provided with an electronic performance evaluation via Mayo Clinic’s MedHub portal. A final summative evaluation will be sent to you and your school official upon completion of your clerkship.