An online educational facility for medical oncology trainees: www.vmotg.org

Purpose: To design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive educational Web site for medical oncology trainees. Methods: The Web sire was designed with three main areas (termed Journal Cl ub, Key papers, and Oncology Links) and compiled from articles presented at the Victorian Medical Oncology Trainees' Group journal club from the prece ding 3 years. The Key Papers section was then reviewed by 30 academic medic al oncologists. The site was advertised by mail and at the Annual Meeting o f the Medical Oncology Group of Australia. Evaluation was by mail survey. Results: The Web sire, which may be accessed at www.vmotg.org, comprises mo re than 170 pages and 30,000 words of text, Journal club sessions are summa rized with presented articles linked to abstracts from PubMed, Key Papers l ists from five to 25 pivotal articles in each of 35 categories, Oncology Li nks is an extensive list of links in 10 categories including organizations, journals, and practice guidelines. Twenty-six of 45 trainees and 82 of 190 oncologists responded to the survey. Eighty-one percent of these trainees and 28% of oncologists have used the Web site. Ninety-six percent consider the Web site easy to use and "a useful medical oncology resource." All trai nees rated the site good to excellent: in terms of relevance and 94% consid ered the site beneficial to their education. Conclusion: The Web site www.vmotg.org is a relevant and useful educational resource for Australian medical oncology trainees and oncologists, As far as the authors are aware, this is the only educational site specifically fo r medical oncology trainees throughout the world. It may be a valuable onco logy education resource for trainees in other countries, particularly those in isolated areas. J Clin Onco[ 19:2566-2569, (C) 2001 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.