Effects and Permanency of the Training Program “Communication with Cancer Patients” on the Opinions of Students

Learning to develop the doctor–patient relationship is very important in the treatment of patients with cancer. We aim to train our students in the early years of study about this subject with a course on the patient–doctor communication, prepared for third year students. One hundred fifty-four third year students participated in our study during the 2006–2007 academic years. The same questionnaire was given to the students in the 2009–2010 academic year; their sixth year of study. The rate of return for the questionnaire is 88.7%. Based on this study, we have the opinion that the training given in the third year is beneficial; however, the efficacy of the training diminishes with the advancing years, and therefore, the length of this training should be increased in the upper classes and additional hours should be added.