Healthcare Professional Education

Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center offers an array of courses aimed at community physicians and health care professionals.

Physician Education

UC Irvine Continuing Medical Education scheduled series

The cancer center and its programs offer an extensive range of tumor boards and grand rounds. These are attended by faculty and trainees as well as by community oncologists. Tumor boards in most of the oncologic specialties are held on a regular basis: 

• Brain (weekly) — contact: Paula Muth
• Breast (weekly) — contact: Paula Muth
• Breast (Pacific Care Breast Center) (weekly) - contact: Alice Police or R. Matt Carroll
• Gastrointestinal (weekly) — contact: Paula Muth
• Genitourinary (bi-weekly) - contact: Paula Muth
• Gynecologic Oncology (weekly) — contact: Leticia Vazquez
• Head and Neck Oncology (weekly) — Contact: Gisela Hoke
• Hepatobiliary (semi-monthly) — contact: April Stubbert
• Malignant Hematology (bi-weekly) - contact: Paula Muth
• Pigmented Lesion and Melanoma (monthly) — contact: Paula Muth or Ken Linden

Nursing education in oncology

• Research In-Services — a training series on research processes geared toward the clinical nursing staff and hospital physicians
• Research Educational Forums — training in the workflow process, roles within clinical trials and current resources for nurses and clinical staff
• Oncology Nursing Society Chemotherapy Certification — a two-day comprehensive review of knowledge needed to administer chemotherapy
• Research Accrual Meeting — training for cancer center nurses on pertinent research issues, open clinical trials and updates in policies/procedures
• Cancer Center Crash Course — training cancer center nurses and staff about cancer as a disease process and working/coping in a cancer environment

In addition, cancer center members have an active role in teaching students enrolled in the university's baccalaureate and master's degree programs in Nursing Science as well as the family nurse practitioners' program.  

Staff education

• The Consenting Workshop (quarterly) — conducted by the Office of Clinical Research & Trials detailing the informed consent process from a recruitment perspective
• Chao Intranet Training (monthly) — for staff using the Chao intranet, which hosts cancer center research information
• Clinical Trials Team Meeting (quarterly) — updating research staff on policies and procedures, research updates and enrichment activities
• Patient Recruitment Resource Education (quarterly) — for the oncology fellows and faculty to understand the marketing services of the recruitment office
• Education for call center and front desk staff (annual training for all new employees on an ongoing basis) to handle calls from the toll-free clinical trial question line, 877-UC-STUDY