Pioneering psycho-oncology: A collaborative journey for medical and psychology students at ecancer-Tata Medical Center Kolkata Psycho-oncology Congress 2024.

Abstract

Psycho-oncology is an upcoming specialisation that encompasses the psychological and social aspects of cancer care. In an integrated psycho-oncology service, consultant psychiatrists and clinical psychologists come together with other professionals to treat comorbid psychiatric disorders of cancer patients and their caregivers. Psycho-oncologists also contribute to improving clinician-patient communication, address staff burnout and conduct translational research. The ecancer-Tata Medical Center Kolkata Psycho-oncology Congress, 2024 was an initiative to encourage multi-disciplinary learning in undergraduate and postgraduate medical and psychology students and early career professionals. Written feedback from 106 participants who comprised 71% (71%, 106/149) of the pre-registered delegates, showed that the overwhelming majority found the overall experience as 'excellent' (75/106, 70.75%) or 'good' (27/106, 25%). The qualitative free-text feedback expressed the desire for longer psycho-oncology conferences 'spread over two days', eagerness to learn about qualitative and quantitative 'research methods' and specific therapeutic techniques used to treat common psychiatric comorbidities in cancer patients. A video providing an overview of the event is available here: https://ecancer.org/en/video/12232-reflections-after-the-ecancer-tata-medical-center-kolkata-psycho-oncology-congress-2024. This event generated a set of educational videos on psycho-oncology that are available online here: https://ecancer.org/en/conference/1551-ecancer-tmc-kolkata-psycho-oncology-congress.