(P-ED-8) The Age of Cellular Therapy Education – Are We Ready for the Next Steps?

Prior studies have identified educational gaps in Transfusion Medicine (TM) education at a global level. However, the status of education in Cellular Therapy (CT) undergraduate medical education is unknown, although this emerging field it’s part of TM and envisioned to become the fourth therapeutic pillar in modern medicine. This study aims to highlight the status of CT education in the medical school curricula worldwide.

 

Study

Design/Methods:

A comprehensive validated survey was developed in Qualtrics to assess CT education and distributed to educational officials of medical schools in countries over six continents during September 2023 and April 2024. The survey was anonymous and comprised of 20 questions exploring various domains such as type of medical school, requirements of CT education, faculty involved, and opinion of the need of a CT curriculum development.

 

Results/Findings:

A total of 44 medical schools in 20 countries participated in the survey (44/504; 8.7%). Most of the responding medical schools offer a 4-year medical curriculum following secondary education college (19/44, 43%) or a 6-year medical curriculum following high school (18/44, 40%), while a minority (7/44, 15%) offers other medical school models. Seventeen (17/44, 39%) offer CT education, mostly optional (9/17, 53%). Equal number of schools do not offer CT education to their medical students, and, for a minority (22%), the status is unknown. The educational modality used in majority of schools is lectures, followed by seminars, elective and problem-based learning. Projects and online-courses are rarely used. The majority of faculty involved in CT teaching are part of the clinical laboratory, TM, and Hematology/Oncology and have other duties. Of the medical schools offering CT education, the curriculum is standardized in a minority (3/14, 21%). Only one program listed a comprehensive curriculum. The majority (9/14, 64%) do not consider their CT teaching adequate and appreciate that the curriculum should be expanded. CT knowledge is not formally assessed or examined in any school. Albeit in various degrees, most schools (64%) would likely integrate in their medical curriculum an online CT course developed by a professional organization, if offered.

 

Conclusions:

Despite the tremendous potential to cure malignancies and genetic diseases in the future, knowledge of cellular therapies is lagging at the medical student level. CT education is overall considered inadequate even by medical schools offering it. Further studies should explore the potential obstacles in bridging this educational gap. This study highlights the opportunity and responsibility of faculty educators and professional organizations to offer CT teaching to better prepare medical students for the demands of the future.