Armed with the results of the Cancer Instructional
Survey II and the Texas Assessment of Basic Cancer Prevention and Detection Knowledge, the
project director from the UTMB Cancer Center presented this information to curricular
deans or specialists from all 8 Texas medical schools in December 1992. The deficient
areas and the general lack of emphasis within the medical curricula related to cancer
prevention, detection, and control were acknowledged. This led to the birth of the Cancer
Teaching and Curriculum Enhancement in Undergraduate Medicine (CATCHUM) Project, funded by
the Texas Cancer Council.
The 8 medical schools formed a consortium. Curricular deans and specialists from each
school constituted the CATCHUM steering committee. In 1993, the
curricular deans or their designated faculty representatives from each school and
observers from the Physician Oncology Education Program of the Texas Medical Association
began meeting quarterly with the CATCHUM Project staff from the UTMB Cancer Center.
These people have become the steering committee that has spearheaded the process of
reviewing and changing the curriculum at each school.
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