The St. Jude Global Academy: A Multifaceted Education Program to Expand Pediatric Oncology Workforce Capacity

Abstract

There is currently a global shortage of healthcare professionals equipped to handle the rising burden of childhood cancer. St. Jude Global is an initiative to improve survival rates of children with cancer worldwide while improving access to quality care. One of the overriding goals of St. Jude Global is focused on education: the training of the clinical workforce needed to expand quality care for all children with cancer. Herein, we describe the St. Jude Global Academy (SJGA) and its programs. The three main workstreams of the SJGA are: clinical training programs, courses, and distance learning. St. Jude collaborates with eight institutions in seven low- and middle-income countries to train pediatric subspecialists. Each year, approximately 20 new fellows start at these clinical training programs. To date, 92 specialists have been trained. The SJGA's courses create educational opportunities that provide a structured learning experience in key areas that are relevant to pediatric cancer care. To date, 1081 participants from 372 institutions in 84 countries have successfully completed these educational opportunities. Cure4Kids is the SJGA's distance learning platform. Over 9000 healthcare professionals in 177 countries use Cure4Kids. The platform receives 1400 visits and over 13,000 page views per day. The SJGA's multifaceted approach encompasses various disciplines and skills, providing healthcare professionals from around the world the skills to address the needs of children diagnosed with cancer in their respected institutions. These efforts are essential for building workforce capacity to improve outcomes.