Celebrating 10 Years of Undergraduate Medical Education: A Student-Centered Evaluation of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre--Determinants of Community Health Year 2 Program.

Between 2000 and 2011, over 170 second-year medical students participated in a Determinants of Community Health (DOCH 2) project at Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH). Students undertook community-based research projects at the hospital or with PMH community partners involving activities such as producing a literature review, writing a research proposal, obtaining ethics approval, carrying out data collection and analysis, presenting their data to classmates and supervisors, and production of a final report. An electronic survey consisting of both quantitative and qualitative questions was developed to evaluate the PMH-DOCH 2 program and was distributed to 144 past students with known email addresses. Fifty-eight students responded, a response rate of 40.3%. Data analysis indicates that an increase in oncology knowledge, awareness of the impact of determinants of health on patients, and knowledge of research procedures increased participants' satisfaction and ability to conduct research following DOCH 2. Furthermore, the PMH-DOCH 2 program enhanced the development of CanMEDS competencies through career exploration and patient interaction as well as through shadowing physicians and other allied health professionals. In addition, some students felt their PMH-DOCH 2 projects played a beneficial role during their residency matching process. The PMH-DOCH 2 research program appeared to provide a positive experience for most participants and opportunities for medical students' professional growth and development outside the confines of traditional lecture-based courses.