1. Introduction
Coventry University in association with, and supported by Teenage Cancer Trust have designed this e-learning Webapp to help those new to working with Teenagers and Young Adults (TYA) with Cancer understand the key principles of care for addressing their unique needs. It also provides underpinning knowledge of teenage and young adulthood in general so that the learner can appreciate the impact of a cancer diagnosis and its treatment at this age and stage of life.
Aims
This eLearning Webapp aims to promote Teenage/Young Adult Cancer Care within the context of the whole cancer care experience.
Learning Outcomes
The intended learning outcomes are that on completion of this eLearning Webapp the student should be able to:
- Describe the physical and psychosocial changes that occur during 'normal' adolescent development
- Describe the most common cancers that occur for teenagers and young adults
- Describe cancer treatment types and recognise how cancer and its treatments may impact the teenager/young adult with cancer
- Acknowledge age specific issues related to communicating with teenagers/young adults with cancer, their families and peers
- Recognise specific professional issues when dealing with this patient group such as professional boundaries, legal and ethical considerations
- Recognise factors influencing survivorship and or end of life treatment for teenagers and young adults
Working your way through the Webapp
The content is spread out over sections and has been written by experts in the field of caring for Teenagers/Young Adults with Cancer. It is purposefully written in a way that conveys the basic principles of care for this patient group rather than defining or describing specialist knowledge.
Meet Simon and Sumita
To help the learner understand the impact of cancer on a Teenager or Young Adult we would like to introduce you to Simon, aged 14, and Sumita aged 21. Both of these young people have cancer and have blogged throughout their cancer experience. These blogs are available for you to read in full and you will be signposted to aspects of their blog that link to various sections that help you make sense of what the cancer experience can be like for Teenagers and Young Adult. You can switch between the blogs and the content quite easily.
Please note that while these characters are fictional, the experiences presented are drawn from a diverse collection of case studies and you may find some of the blogs emotional as they reflect the reality of cancer for some young people.
Assessment of learning
This eLearning Webapp does not assess clinical competence.
A self test quiz is available at the end of the eLearning Webapp. Upon successful completion of the quiz, the user can download a certificate of completion.