Cancer Care Ontario commissioned this self-directed learning manual for general practitioners in oncology to assist general/family medicine physicians who currently work or plan to work in an oncology setting. Most physicians who chose to work with cancer patients have had little opportunity to learn about cancer care due to the lack of oncology curriculum content in university training and in family medicine certification programs. Currently there are no formal training programs for physicians who wish to pursue a general practitioner in oncology (GPO) role. As a consequence, those physicians who are working as GPOs in the healthcare system have acquired their knowledge “on the job".
This self-directed learning program includes clinical scenarios, recommended reading lists, and resources available on-line to assist a general practitioner/family medicine physician in efficiently gaining knowledge to use in clinical practice. All case scenarios and patient names have been created for educational purposes only, and do not represent, in any manner, real cases or individuals.
The manual is organized on a disease site-specific basis. Each section has a clinical case scenario and it is recommended that the GPO work through each case with an oncologist supervisor. Questions pertinent to each stage of a particular cancer are posed and recommended reading lists are provided which identify important clinical studies and review articles.
It is recommended that GPOs be provided with a mentorship program to complement the readings and case studies provided in this self-directed learning manual.
Materials for this program were developed by Dr. Mary Waddell, a General Practitioner in Oncology at the Hamilton and Kingston Regional Cancer Centres, and reviewed by specialists across the province (see manual for names).
This manual will be updated on an annual basis so that the resource materials contained within it continue to be relevant to the general practitioner seeking quality information resources on cancer care.
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