Launching an International Community of Practice in Hematology/Oncology Medical Education

Abstract

A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly. While the field of hematology/oncology has historically prioritized clinical care and biomedical research, medical education has received increasing attention within hematology/oncology in recent years. In 2018, ASCO launched the Education Scholars Program to train hematology/oncology clinicians in the science of teaching and learning. However, the number of hematology/oncology educators nationally and internationally far exceeds the capacity of the Education Scholars Program to train them. In addition, hematology/oncology educators often lack sufficient mentorship and guidance at their own institutions to pursue their chosen career path effectively. To ensure high-quality clinical care and research for generations to come, attention must be paid to improving support for hematology/oncology educators. Therefore, supported by ASCO, we developed an international medical education (Med Ed) CoP for hematology/oncology educators with the purpose of providing them with support, community, mentorship, resources, and scholarly opportunities in medical education. In this article, we describe the development of the Med Ed CoP using a three-stage framework (Establish-Grow-Sustain) including successes, challenges, and reflections. By supporting the needs of hematology/oncology educators, the Med Ed CoP will serve as a home for all who contribute to the field of hematology/oncology.