The Oncologist, Vol. 6, No. 6, 486-487,
December 2001
© 2001 AlphaMed Press
CME Online: For the Oncologist from The Oncologist
Gregory A. Curt, M.D.
Clinical Director, NCI The Oncologist CME Editor
From its inception, The Oncologist was envisioned as a resource for practicing cancer doctors. For this reason, the Journal's content has focused on relevant subjects of interest to the oncologist working in the clinic and at the bedside of the patient. The Editors have selected peer-reviewed articles ranging from current controversies in and evolving paradigms of disease and symptom management (Dialogs in Oncology), scholarly reviews of evolving areas of cancer medicine, updates on new anti-cancer agents in the preclinical and clinical pipelines (Original Articles, Promising New Drugs and Combinations), and pieces which relate to the real-life treatment of people with cancer (Reflections and The Schwartz Center Rounds).
While the Journal's subject matter is uniquely focused on the needs and interests of the practicing oncologist, there are other special features to be found within our pages. The Journal's graphics, especially in the Fundamentals of Cancer Medicine have been particularly robust. The colorful and sometimes nearly three-dimensional representations of proteins, antibodies, immunotoxins, and other molecules have effectively brought complex basic science concepts to life, especially in the many articles on molecular medicine and validated cellular targets.
The written resource has also become a widely subscribed electronic resource with a website offering free subscriptions and archives to anyone in the world with access to the Internet. Not many journals do that. Online access to The Oncologist now exceeds 20,000 visits per week. With the first issue of the new year, the e-version of The Oncologist launches an important new functionality for practicing oncologists.
Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits are important to clinicians to maintain their currency with science and accreditation for both medical licensure and hospital privileges. Some State Medical Boards also have specific requirements for ongoing CME credits in Risk Management. Oncologists will be able to obtain category 1 CME credits through The Oncologist website. Indeed, The Oncologist is the only journal currently to have obtained online CME accreditation from the National Institutes of Health itself (Fig. 1
).
By following the instructions in this Journal or at the website, oncologists can obtain a unique access code to our virtual classroom, successfully complete tests on selected articles, and print certification for category 1 CME credits. There are some special features to our site. A wrong answer brings you back to the paragraph in the article where the question originated, fostering real-time learning, and then allows another try at the question. Importantly, The Schwartz Center Rounds have been approved for category 1 credit in Risk Management, often difficult to come by in a busy clinical setting.
In this, as in other areas of The Oncologist, we turn to you, our readers, for comments, suggestions, and feedback. Let us know what you like and what you do not, so that we can improve the site and learn together. I hope you find this new feature of your Journal useful.
 
| |
Gregory A. Curt, M.D.
Clinical Director, NCI
The Oncologist CME Editor
|
|
