Desmond Renee A, Padilla Luz A, Daniel Casey L, Prickett Charles T, Venkatesh Raam, Brooks C Michael, Waterbor John W
Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1665 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL, 35294-0022, USA.
J Cancer Educ. 2016 Mar;31(1):93-100. doi: 10.1007/s13187-014-0786-8.
The efficacy of short-term cancer research educational programs in meeting its immediate goals and long-term cancer research career objectives has not been well studied. The purpose of this report is to describe the immediate impact on, and the long-term career outcomes of, 499 medical students and graduate students who completed the Cancer Research Experiences for Students (CaRES) program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) from 1999 to 2013. In summer 2014, all 499 program alumni were located and 96.4 % (481 of 499) agreed to complete a longitudinal tracking survey. About 23 % of CaRES alumni (110 of 499) have published at least one cancer-related paper. Overall 238 cancer-related papers have been published by CaRES alumni, one third of this number being first-authored publications. Nearly 15 % (71 of 481 respondents) reported that their current professional activities include cancer research, primarily clinical research and outcomes research. Of these 71 individuals, 27 (38 %) have completed their training and 44 (62 %) remain in training. Of all respondents, 58 % reported that they administered care to cancer patients and 30 % reported other cancer-related professional responsibilities such as working with a health department or community group on cancer control activities. Of the 410 respondents not currently engaged in cancer research, 118 (29 %) stated intentions to conduct cancer research in the next few years. Nearly all respondents (99.6 %) recommended CaRES to today's students. Challenging short-term educational cancer research programs for medical students and graduate health professional students can help them refine and solidify their career plans, with many program alumni choosing cancer research careers.
短期癌症研究教育项目在实现其近期目标和长期癌症研究职业目标方面的成效尚未得到充分研究。本报告的目的是描述1999年至2013年在阿拉巴马大学伯明翰分校（UAB）完成学生癌症研究体验（CaRES）项目的499名医科学生和研究生所受到的近期影响以及长期职业成果。2014年夏天，找到了所有499名项目校友，其中96.4%（499人中的481人）同意完成一项纵向跟踪调查。约23%的CaRES校友（499人中的110人）发表了至少一篇与癌症相关的论文。CaRES校友总共发表了238篇与癌症相关的论文，其中三分之一是第一作者发表的论文。近15%（481名受访者中的71人）报告称其目前的专业活动包括癌症研究，主要是临床研究和结果研究。在这71人中，27人（38%）已完成培训，44人（62%）仍在接受培训。在所有受访者中，58%报告称他们为癌症患者提供护理，30%报告了其他与癌症相关的专业职责，如与卫生部门或社区团体合作开展癌症控制活动。在目前未从事癌症研究的410名受访者中，118人（29%）表示打算在未来几年开展癌症研究。几乎所有受访者（99.6%）都向当今的学生推荐CaRES项目。针对医科学生和卫生专业研究生的具有挑战性的短期癌症研究教育项目可以帮助他们完善和巩固职业规划，许多项目校友选择了癌症研究职业。
