Table 1 Major Themes from Student Feedback (with example quotes)

1. Appreciated Customized Patient Case-Based Teaching Approach

Example Student Quotes:

1.1 “I thought it was neat, because for mine, we talking about test appropriateness. It was a good example of inappropriate test ordering and an over-utilization of that resource and then, also, not testing for the right genes and variants. So it was actually a really good example of what not to do, on the day I went with them to clinic. So sometimes it’s very helpful to see that.”

1.2 “I thought of it as a … differential diagnosis and critical thinking exercise where [you] walk through- why order the test? What we would do if the results were X? And then, if the results are Y, what would we do? And then, sometimes, we talk about it and they were Z. So then it was just a whole [other] avenue that we didn’t entertain at first. And really, it’s almost like it was evolving throughout the semester, which was kind of fun. And it wasn’t scripted, it couldn’t have been scripted. It was a real patient.”

1.3 “I’m in a translational research role or education career pathway … it’s really useful to see what the doctors think about and consider when doing everything. And I think that if I’m going to be successful at translating all this genetics research and actual clinical practice, then it’s really useful to have the perspective from the clinical side.”

1.4 “I’m not usually in the clinic so, for me, it made the whole course just a lot more real … when you talk to the patient you have to make sure how you phrase things, and how they might not understand things the way you say it but then you have to rephrase it in simple words, and it was just interesting to me to see an actual patient in the clinic.”

2. More Genomic Data Analysis and Interpretation

Example Student Quotes:

2.1 “I would have loved to, with one of the samples from one of the patients that we were looking at, if [the instructor] would’ve gone through the steps and how he put it into the program, how he got the data, what many manipulations he did. That is something that I would have found incredibly helpful … Even if it was extended by a longer period of time, I wouldn’t mind being here for two hours and seeing that example.”

2.2 “I guess I’m not 100% clear on what the best databases are for looking at the variants.”

2.3 “Some of the more basic translocations and stuff I knew, but some of the karyotyping we looked at here were pretty complex. That’s definitely a skill I learned walking away, being able to interpret those quickly.”

3. Precision Oncology Breadth Learned from Multidisciplinary Training

Example Student Quotes:

3.1 “They used our input, which was nice. We discussed and we all came to a conclusion about what we should do with the patient. It was not just the experts discussing, being involved. Everyone who was part of the class and we all chipped in what we knew about the subject. That was nice, that we could be involved with that even though we are not doctors.”

3.2 “I would have loved to see more of all [the other professionals] here at the same time … their discussions I found the most interesting and the part that I learned the most.”

3.3 “I’ve been doing cancer research for a while, and now I’ve transitioned to regeneration. But during this class I’ve been able to identify where I would like to be participating further in my career, and the tools that are available, and the areas where we can expand and use towards understanding cancer better. And so it has really aided my research and my professional goals towards that area.”

3.4 “I would say this was an actual true interdisciplinary course. Whereas other courses might throw that word in there, in their syllabus, this one genuinely was. So it was very much appreciated.”

4. Collaborative Learning Enhancement Ideas for Class Discussions

Example Student Quotes:

4.1 “I think that he could have let us talk and flounder a little bit more before sort of revealing the answers. Sometimes I felt like I spent a lot of time reviewing the case and then he was basically like, ‘Okay it’s this.’”

4.2 “Uploading the cases earlier would have been really helpful for me as well…[we] have to present part of the case, but we were given the assignment either the day of or the day before. And so there was very little time to adequately prepare for that.”

4.3 “I’ve never specifically worked on Leukemias. I’ve done cancer research in the past, but I had enough background information to be able to pick it up…it would have been helpful to have just a collection of background reading posted on the website for people to get an intro if they needed it.”