As practice continues to evolve, there will need to be concurrent changes in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education on skin cancer
Over the past two decades, preventive health programs about the need for sun protection have alerted patients to the significance of increased rates of skin cancer in white Australians. Skin checks of both affected people and the “worried well” have become daily medical practice. This public demand has resulted in changes to medical practice and an increase in associated health costs, as touched on in two other articles in this issue.1,2 In this editorial, I argue that, as practice continues to evolve, there will be a need for concurrent changes in undergraduate and postgraduate medical education on skin cancer.
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- 1. Youl PH, Baade PD, Janda M, et al. Diagnosing skin cancer in primary care: how do mainstream general practitioners compare with primary care skin cancer clinic doctors? Med J Aust 2007; 187; 215-220.
- 2. Askew DA, Wilkinson D, Schluter PJ, Eckert K. Skin cancer surgery in Australia 2001–2005: the changing role of the general practitioner. Med J Aust 2007; 187: 210-214.
- 3. McAvoy BR. General practitioners and cancer control. Med J Aust 2007; 187: 115-117. <MJA full text>
- 4. English DR, Del Mar C, Burton RC. Factors influencing the number needed to excise: excision rates of pigmented lesions by general practitioners. Med J Aust 2004; 180: 16-19. <MJA full text>
- 5. Medicare Australia. Health statistics. http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/cgi-bin/broker.exe?_PROGRAM=dyn_mbs.mbs_tab4.sas&_ SERVICE=default&_DEBUG=0&VAR=services&STAT=count&PTYPE=finyear&START_DT=200507&END_DT=200606&RPT_FMT=by+ state&DRILL=ag&GROUP=T0801 (accessed Jul 2007).
- 6. Staples MP, Elwood M, Burton RC, et al. Non-melanoma skin cancer in Australia: the 2002 national survey and trends since 1985. Med J Aust 2006; 184: 6-10. <eMJA full text>
- 7. Wilkinson D, Bourne P, Dixon A, Kitchener S. Skin cancer medicine in primary care: towards an agenda for quality health outcomes. Med J Aust 2006; 184: 11-12. <MJA full text>
- 8. Joyce CM, McNeil JJ, Stoelwinder JU. More doctors, but not enough: Australian medical workforce supply 2001–2012. Med J Aust 2006; 184; 441-446. <MJA full text>
- 9. Dowton SB, Stokes M, Rawston EJ, et al. Postgraduate medical education: rethinking and integrating a complex landscape. Med J Aust 2005; 182: 177-180. <eMJA full text>
- 10. Dahlenburg GW. Medical education in Australia: changes are needed [editorial]. Med J Aust 2006; 184: 319-320. <eMJA full text>
Christopher Commens is a dermatologist and Chair of the Ethics Committee of the ACD. He was formerly Chief Censor of the ACD.