Since 2016, the UNC Lineberger Cancer Network and the NC Community College System have organized a series of oncology webinars for community college students enrolled in health science programs across the state. This series was designed to provide students the opportunity to learn about different types of resources involved with caring for cancer patients. The goal of this series is to improve cancer care within the state of North Carolina and to increase interest in and awareness of professions related to oncology. Through these webinars, students learn from oncology professionals and earn certificates of participation. This series is made possible through the work of The Community College Planning Committee, which comes together to bring these courses to life.
Two members of the planning committee, Lori Byrd, PhD, Associate Director of Programs/ Health Sciences N.C. Community College System Office, and Jon Powell, PhD, Continuing Education Specialist at the UNC Lineberger Cancer Network, join us for an interview about the Community College Oncology Series.
What is your involvement within the committee? How was your experience on the planning committee for this series? (Byrd)
Since I started in this role at the NC Community College System office, I have had the pleasure of working on the planning of the series every year. This year, I loved that the committee was a diverse group of stakeholders. We need to be able to meet the needs of all the people of NC who are associated with health sciences in the community college system. I enjoyed having input from educators who use this series to enrich the learning of their students. The members of the planning committee are a pleasure to work with and so very knowledgeable about cancer topics.
What is the goal for the community college series? (Powell)
UNC Lineberger Cancer Network and the NC Community College System use the Community College Oncology series to help community college students to become aware of cancer as a topic broadly and also to learn more about specific cancers. For example, we have webinars on how to take care of patients with different types of cancers, including Caring for the Patient with Breast Cancer (10/25/2022), Caring for Patients with Head and Neck Cancers (2/21/23), and Caring for Patients with GI Cancers (3/32/23). With each webinar, we showcase careers in nursing, in pharmacology as pharmacology technicians, and in radiology as radiologic technicians, and we are excited this year to include cancer registry as a potential career option for community college students.
What do you hope to see in the future for the series? (Byrd)
I would love to see the series branch out to attract a more interdisciplinary group of learners. At the community college, we have medical assistants, radiography, mammography, CT technology, respiratory therapy, physical therapy assistants, and human services students who could benefit from this work. I also coordinate programs for biotechnology which is a very fast-growing area of employment in NC. While biotech students would not need to know the care topics of this series, I am sure there are areas that would be beneficial to Biotech education. I would love for our health sciences educators to hear about this fantastic opportunity from the Lineberger Cancer Network. We have a system office conference every year in September. Perhaps next year we could have a presentation at that conference to really sell this opportunity. Our instructors are so busy when in their own environment that I fear this topic gets lost in the many emails they get each day.
How do Community College Students get involved with the courses in this series? (Powell)
There are more than 50 community colleges involved in this series, and community college instructors use our videos in this series as part of their classes, either with our Live Webinars or with our Self-Paced, Online Courses. We are happy that several professors have reached out to us about how they use the videos and materials for their classes, and we hope that they continue to do so.
How do you see this program impacting the North Carolina Community when it comes to Oncology Care? (Byrd)
I see this program as a foundational piece to oncology education for community college students. Many of our students know very little about the workforce needs in oncology and the potential for them to specialize in this area. Almost everyone knows someone who has had cancer or who is fighting it now. This information is also important to provide these future health professionals with knowledge to be able to teach their patients who are facing a battle with cancer. Our instructors benefit from the continuing education that helps them educate students as well as meet professional standards required in their field. Finally, the seeds sown through this program may not be immediately visible, but the fruit comes later in the professional lives of these students.
What is something you are looking forward to seeing in this current series? (Powell)
All of the lectures are always great, and there is always something to be learned from them. To start this series off on September 27, we did a webinar solely dedicated to career choices in nursing, pharmacology, radiology, and cancer registry. The lecture’s main focus is on how having an Associate degree helps launch careers in healthcare, and it lets people know that there is value in an Associate degree within these fields. To complete our 2022–23 Community College Oncology series, we have courses on Caring for the Patient with Breast Cancer (10/25/2022), Caring for Patients with Head and Neck Cancers (2/21/23), and Caring for Patients with GI Cancers (3/32/23). Helping community college students is important to me because I attended two different community colleges in my academic career. The teachers were wonderful, and the classes were very informative. I really enjoyed my experience and I hope these students enjoy theirs as well.
Please be on the lookout for the next live webinar on October 25th about Caring for the Patients with Breast Cancer
Click here to view the past and upcoming webinars in this series