Excellent Practices

Developing an International, Inclusive and Integrated Programme of Cancer Education

Practice Category: Education

Centre: The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

Rikki Goddard-Fuller

Director, Christie Institute for Cancer Education

R.Goddard-Fuller@nhs.net

Challenge addressed by the practice

Ensuring high-quality continuing education for professionals that enables excellent care and the best outcomes for patients through five key criteria:

Multiprofessional: Within and across primary, secondary and specialist clinical/non-clinical professional teams

Inclusive: Enabling all learners to access support and learning to benefit better patient care

Collaborative: Designing education with patients for both patients and professionals

Relevant: To scope of practice and stage of career (undergraduate to senior professional)

Accessible: Online and in-person education for UK, European and international professionals

Solution

Creation and evolution of specialist cancer education into a dedicated Christie Institute for Cancer Education. The institute supports over 20,000 learner episodes per year, providing education to:

  • Christie staff across all grades and professions
  • Undergraduate students from 10 different healthcare disciplines and 10 universities
  • Postgraduate, research and professional external colleagues via credentialed programmes and vocational CME/CPD
  • International learners from >50 countries, online and in-person, via dedicated observership and fellowship schemes

Using authentic, expert education across a broad range of cancer care domains:

  • Precision oncology (including proton and immunotherapy), advanced surgical and diagnostic cancer care
  • Supportive cancer care, physics, engineering, and primary care/family medicine oncology
  • Leadership, communication, and organisational improvement
  • This is led by a specialist education and clinical team, supporting wider educational scholarship, research, and leadership in cancer education nationally and internationally.

Impact

Progressive growth in learning and transformation in practice:

  • Greater accessibility to cancer care education through our Digital Clinical Placement programme
  • Vocational and advanced degree pathways for all clinical staff, supporting career development, advanced practice roles, and innovation in practice (e.g. neighbourhood and outreach oncology, senior adult care, and acute oncology)
  • Global education citizenship: support for all staff to achieve and benefit from knowledge exchange with other cancer centres, alongside a dedicated programme of online events and observerships for professional visitors learning with The Christie
  • Scholarship-informed education practice: underpinned by an active programme of faculty development and recognition schemes for staff
  • Patient and community engagement: through an Experts by Experience programme, with a focus on inclusion and accessible care and expert patient co-design of education (e.g. https://alknowledge.org/)

Critical success factors

The Christie focuses on providing real world educational support, connecting evidenced based education and clinical research and enabling best patient outcomes through:

  • Dedicated body of clinical and educational expertise in an inter-disciplinary, collaborative culture
  • Expert clinical academic, and educational leadership
  • Alignment with, influence on, and contribution to wider Christie innovation goals
  • Investment in, access to, and recognition of education in a wider inclusive Christie culture
  • Benefit from a mixed model of education provision, areas of expert practice, and commitment to access and inclusion for all learners
  • Regular horizon scanning to ensure both innovation in cancer care and education practice integrate to keep learning authentic, relevant, and impactful
  • A learn together philosophy

Next steps

Our education culture and philosophy are one of continuous improvement, supporting The Christie’s innovation in future cancer care:

  • Enabling digitally transformed practices for patients, and staff
  • Data driven, care closer to patients’ homes
  • Personalised care linked to primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention

More widely:

  • Launch of a new innovative series of Future Cancer Care postgraduate programmes for international and UK cancer professionals
  • With the OECI, developing an active educational network of cancer care resources and centres