CANCER MODULE OF MEDICAL NUTRITION CURRICULUM INITIATIVE

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A major aim of the Cancer Education Grant Program of the National Cancer institute is the development of unique educational approaches that ultimately will have an impact on reducing cancer incidence, mortality and morbidity. Leaders in academic nutrition from fourteen medical schools, under the leadership of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH), are working to develop a new approach to medical nutrition education using a series of innovative computer-based modules which form a common core program in nutrition for medical students. In this grant we propose to develop the module covering nutrition and cancer. The core of the computer-enhanced teaching materials will be a series of multimedia- interactive computer programs. Each program presents basic nutrition science within the framework of a student interaction with a simulated (on professional quality digitized video) patient. For the nutrition and cancer module our learning objectives are derived from those formulated by a workshop convened by the American Society for Cancer Education. In addition ot the biochemical bases of nutrition and cancer, the module will cover related nutrition epidemiology, clinical nutrition, nutrition assessment and nutritionally-related preventive health care. In year 1, we propose to develop the program and undertake formative testing on volunteer students. In year 2, we propose to validate the program in pilot studies, revise it appropriately, and then test it ont he medical student class entering UNC-CH in fall 1996. The performance on evaluative testing performed before and after computer-enhanced training will be compared to the performance of students entering UNC in fall 1995 who will be presented a conventional curriculum on nutrition and cancer. Nutrition assessment techniques will be taught as part of the computer-enhanced curriculum and will be reinforced by a conventional physical diagnosis course in the second year of medical school. Using an Objective Standardized Clinical Examination (trained patient) in medical school year 2, we will compare performance of the entering class of 1995 (no computer-enhanced training) with that of the entering class of 1996 (computer-enhanced). In year 3 of the proposed grant, we will test the nutrition and cancer program at two other medical schools (selected by our national advisory board) using the pretest and post-test validated at UNC. Feedback derived from this testing will be used to revise the module.