Outline

Overview

The Advanced Oncology syllabus is at a level appropriate for practitioners undertaking specialist training in oncology or with an interest in the field. The content of this course comprises topics relevant across many tumour streams; screening, clinical trials, cancer therapies, palliative and supportive care, and survivorship. There are also several learning activities related to the diagnosis and investigation of important but less common oncological conditions. The module learning materials are linked to a library of clinical cases representing common and important oncological conditions.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Internal Medicine
Credit points	3
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	This unit of study is available only to registered medical practitioners with experience working in an Australian or New Zealand clinical setting.
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Sharon Nahm, sharon.nahm@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Supervised exam ?	Final exam MCQ	40%	Formal exam period	1.5 hours
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Discussion forums Discussion contributions	10%	Multiple weeks	n/a
Outcomes assessed:
Online task	Clinical cases Case studies	25%	Multiple weeks	450 words each
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Case report Case study	25%	Week 08 Due date: 23 Apr 2023 at 23:59	1500 words
Outcomes assessed:

Assessment summary

Discussion forums: You will be asked questions about the practice cases in the module and be asked to discuss them with your
peers. The discussion will assist you in completing the cases and also in submitting your graded case.
Clinical cases: Each module has 3 clinical cases – two ungraded ‘practice’ cases and one graded case. During each module, you will work through the two ungraded cases and address the related trigger questions. These cases will guide the discussion on the relevant discussion forum. At the end of the module, you will submit a graded case. You will be expected to answer all of the trigger questions. This should not require more than 1000 words.
Case report: In general, about 1/3 of the report should be allocated to the case report and 2/3 to discussion of the case. The report should be based on a patient you have cared for, or reviewed, in your clinical work. The format of the case report can be as a narrative or arranged in the manner usual for medical record documentation: history of the presenting illness, previous medical history, social history, examination, investigations and diagnosis.
Final exam: The final exam is a graded, fully invigilated exam conducted via Canvas with the help of an online proctor. The exam will contain 60 multiple choice questions (single best answer). The exam will be timed for 90 minutes.

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100
Distinction	75 - 84
Credit	65 - 74
Pass	50 - 64
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Module 1: cancer screening, prevention and clinical trials	Online class (5 hr)
Week 02	Module 1: cancer screening, prevention and clinical trials	Online class (5 hr)
Week 03	Module 1: cancer screening, prevention and clinical trials	Online class (5 hr)
Week 04	Module 1: cancer screening, prevention and clinical trials	Online class (5 hr)
Week 05	Module 2: cancer therapies	Online class (5 hr)
Week 06	Module 2: cancer therapies	Online class (5 hr)
Week 07	Module 2: cancer therapies	Online class (5 hr)
Week 08	Module 2: cancer therapies	Online class (5 hr)
Week 09	Module 3: supportive care and less common cancers	Online class (5 hr)
Week 10	Module 3: supportive care and less common cancers	Online class (5 hr)
Week 11	Module 3: supportive care and less common cancers	Online class (5 hr)
Week 12	Module 3: supportive care and less common cancers	Online class (5 hr)
Week 13	Module 3: supportive care and less common cancers	Online class (5 hr)

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 3 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 60-75 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Because oncology changes so quickly, often journal articles are the best up-to-date way to learn about current oncology practice. By the time the textbooks are written, the science has changed!

Sometimes you need to skim through the topics until you find one that is relevant. Some review articles are quite esoteric and about minutiae that you probably don’t need to know in detail. The more general review articles I always find useful.

My own recommendations for general reading are as follows. For the specific modules, please refer to the suggested reading guide for that module.

The annual ASCO educational books, available each year, will often contain useful and up-to-date summaries on various topics. Remember that ASCO is likely to be US-specific and management is not always the same when comparing the USA to Australia, especially with access to drugs. You also need to pick through what is relevant for you, but you can use the search tool for this.

http://ascopubs.org/journal/edbk (Links to an external site.)

https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/collections/edbook/2017%20ASCO%20Educational%20Book (Links to an external site.)

https://www.cancer.gov/types (Links to an external site.)

If you click on a type of cancer, at the top right in purple it has a ‘health professional’ section which provides useful overviews of that cancer type. Note this is an American site so management is not always the same as in Australia.

Eg for cancer of unknown primary:

https://www.cancer.gov/types/unknown-primary/hp/unknown-primary-treatment-pdq (Links to an external site.)

Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology:

https://www.nature.com/nrclinonc/ (Links to an external site.)

It’s part of the ‘nature’ lot of journals so virtually guaranteed to be good quality. You do need to pick through topics though as some are quite esoteric

NEJM oncology and haematology (all their haem and onc articles put together in the one place, which is handy!)

https://www.nejm.org/oncology-hematology

If you are working in oncology, or indeed in any aspect of medicine, these two references may be a good read for you, so I have included them in the library as recommended reading!

Mastering Resilience in Oncology: Learn to Thrive in the Face of Burnout

http://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/EDBK_173874 (Links to an external site.)

From Burnout to Resilience: An Update for Oncologists

http://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/EDBK_201023

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. recognise criteria for effective cancer screening
LO2. describe the current cancer screening programs available in Australia
LO3. consider the role of diet, exercise and heredity in cancer prevention and management
LO4. describe the different clinical trial phases and communicating the potential benefits of trial participation
LO5. describe the mechanism of action and potential toxicities of cancer therapies
LO6. diagnose, investigate and manage several uncommon cancers
LO7. initiate palliative care in oncology patients and understanding the benefits of a coordinated approach to palliative care
LO8. plan an oncology patient's survivorship care.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

We value your feedback about any aspect of the unit of study and your experience as a student of Sydney Medical School. To help ensure our courses meet your needs and maintain a high standard, we welcome your feedback at any time and we ask you to complete the Mid-Semester Evaluation Survey and the unit of study Evaluation Survey at the end of the semester. You can also rate any component of the unit using our star rating system found at the bottom of many pages as you progress through the unit. Your ratings and comments are anonymous and specifying what you liked and didn’t like about any of the learning materials, assessment items, discussion forums, feedback etc will help us to target our improvement efforts. Please note that your participation in this unit of study permits de-identified information about your learning experience and interaction with learning resources to be used for the purpose of improving the student learning experience. No changes have been made since this unit was last offered.

Additional information

Student hub - Professional Medical Education

Work, health and safety

We are governed by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 and Codes of Practice. Penalties for non-compliance have increased. Everyone has a responsibility for health and safety at work. The University’s Work Health and Safety policy explains the responsibilities and expectations of workers and others, and the procedures for managing WHS risks associated with University activities.

General Laboratory Safety Rules

No eating or drinking is allowed in any laboratory under any circumstances
A laboratory coat and closed-toe shoes are mandatory
Follow safety instructions in your manual and posted in laboratories
In case of fire, follow instructions posted outside the laboratory door
First aid kits, eye wash and fire extinguishers are located in or immediately outside each laboratory
As a precautionary measure, it is recommended that you have a current tetanus immunisation. This can be obtained from University Health Service: unihealth.usyd.edu.au/

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect

Current students

INTM5110: Advanced Oncology

Semester 1, 2023 [Online] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Additional information

Additional information

Work, health and safety

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

Media

Student links

About us

Connect