William Scott

"The Principles and Practice of Cancer Prevention and Control Course provided the opportunity to enhance my interests and knowledge in specific areas of oncology, particularly those concerned with the initiation of screening and prevention programs…"

William N. Scott
Lecturer in Biomedicine
Medical Biology Centre
Queen's University Belfast

I previously attended the Molecular Prevention Course at NCI in August 2002 to gain a wider understanding of the cancer prevention at the cellular level, when my interests primarily lay in basic cancer cell biology. At the time it provided a fantastic opportunity for personal development within the molecular oncology field. However, 5 years later and a change in career direction that is currently more focused on medical education, I realized that I only knew part of the story when it came to cancer prevention.

At present, I hold a Lectureship in Biomedicine within the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast. Part of my responsibility is to facilitate teaching and understanding of aspects of oncology to both undergraduate and postgraduate students of Nursing Science.

Given that remit of nurses has now expanded into the role of highly qualified technicians, their responsibilities with respect to both clinical and medical oncology issues have also increased. Having also recently attended the Principles and Practice of Cancer Prevention and Control Course, I am now in the unique position of being able to disseminate and reinforce current opinions with respect to best practice in the prevention and control of cancer, from an additional perspective, which will ultimately benefit the wider patient population.

The Principles and Practice of Cancer Prevention and Control Course provided the opportunity to enhance my interests and knowledge in specific areas of oncology, particularly those concerned with the initiation of screening and prevention programs- areas that I was not previously familiar with. The course similarly allowed discussion with health professionals from both developed and under-developed countries, thereby promoting a global overview of the cancer problem. This was particularly useful and highlighted the role of education in cancer prevention (within both the population and health professional levels). Specialist sessions were also provided with respect to the integration of education and new technologies, and their combined roles in cancer prevention and education - one of my major interests.

Opportunities were also presented to discuss issues surrounding specialist aspects of prevention through interaction with the programme speakers. Again these served to identify important elements of all prevention programmes; particularly within the areas of ethics, law, bias and health disparities.

In summary, the course presented me with a detailed and focused overview of the various components of any prevention programme. This information translates not only to those involved to students in specialist prevention programmes but to all aspects of biomedical research.