Undergraduate medical teaching in departments of oncology in the United Kingdom: a questionnaire survey.

A questionnaire survey has been conducted to assess the nature and extent of teaching given to undergraduate medical students in departments of Oncology within the United Kingdom. Postal questionnaires were sent to 58 departments of Radiotherapy/Oncology and 30 departments of Medical Oncology. This included both teaching and nonteaching departments. Response rates were 84.5% (49 replies) and 90% (27 replies), respectively. Of the responders, 26 Radiotherapy/Oncology departments (53%) and 21 Medical Oncology departments (78%) have a regular commitment to undergraduate medical teaching, the majority being units affiliated to teaching hospitals. The time spent in teaching, methods of teaching, the teaching curriculum, and other details have been documented and are summarised. The information obtained leads us to conclude that there is a considerable variation between departments with regard to teaching commitments and the curriculum. Such variations appear to be primarily centre oriented rather than specialty biased. The survey also raises a number of issues regarding undergraduate medical teaching with reference to oncology, which are discussed.