The use of the internet for medical information and a needs assessment for a web based educational resource: A survey of Canadian medical oncology trainees and training program directors

17022 Background: Medical Oncology trainees develop their skills and knowledge through formal educational sessions, independent learning and clinical rotations. The internet serves as a source of up to date information and a potential educatinal resource. Despite the existence of many websites with oncology related information, there has not been a comprehensive assessment of how medical oncology trainees and program directors use the internet to meet educational objectivs. Method: In the first phase of developing a new educational website (OncologyEducation.com), we surveyed medical oncology trainees and program directors from training programs across Canada to assess how they accessed the internet to determine the elements they considered essential for a trainee-oriented site. Results: 12 out of 13 Canadian medical oncology training programs participated in our survey. A total of 12 program directors and 23 trainees responsed to our survey for a 74.5% response rate. 71.4% of respondents spend up to 10 h...