Fellows develop subspecialty expertise in the oncologic area of their interest by rotating through outpatient clinics in areas of clinical interest throughout the duration of the fellowship. (e.g., breast cancer, lung cancer, gastrointestinal, or genitourinary cancers).

The educational experience is bolstered by Solid Tumor Oncology/Hematologic Oncology Grand Rounds, Department of Medicine Grand Rounds, and Service-specific conferences, such as the Leukemia Conference, Multidisciplinary Lymphoma Conference, Breast Medicine Conference etc., within the trainee’s area of clinical focus. Training is further supplemented by participation in Disease Management Team (DMT) Conferences, Journal Club, and clinically relevant portions of the Core Course for Medical Oncology/Hematology Fellows. In addition, fellows are expected to enroll in the Clinical Research Methodology Curriculum funded by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant. The curriculum is designed to teach the principles and practice of scientifically sound and ethically responsible oncologic research. Trainees are also encouraged to participate in MSK’s Hematology Oncology Fellowship Program Level 1 Grant Writing course. As part of this multidisciplinary training, fellows typically participate in a research project where they are mentored by an attending physician.

All fellows will receive training in an oncologic area of their choice. As a result, the details of clinical training may differ depending on the clinical focus, but the core of clinical training will be similar. Since fellows in this program will have previously completed subspecialty training, and (with notable exceptions in the treatment of some hematologic cancers and bone marrow transplant) most state-of-the-art clinical practice in oncology occurs in the outpatient arena, the curriculum will emphasize outpatient clinical training and protected time for research. All fellows will participate in 4 sessions of outpatient clinics each week (one clinic session is half a day). Each clinic will be supervised by an attending physician in the Department of Medicine with expertise in a focused area of oncology. During outpatient clinic experiences, fellows will learn about the biology and natural history of disease, presenting symptoms and physical signs, appropriate diagnostic techniques, clinical data interpretation, interaction with multidisciplinary groups, such as radiology and pathology, appropriate clinical management, side effects and complications of recommended management, and correct performance of clinical procedures.

Training will occur in the specific areas of:

Each of these fellowships corresponds to a service within the Department of Medicine. As such, during the course of the 2-year program, each fellow will rotate through the sufficient clinics to attain comprehensive exposure to and training in the area of clinical focus. For example, a fellow receiving advanced training in gastrointestinal (GI) oncology would rotate through outpatient clinics of the solid tumor GI service, specializing in each of the following areas: gastroesophageal, colorectal, pancreatic, hepatobiliary, and neuroendocrine cancers. In some instances, training may be engaged in more than one specific area, although it is expected that the resulting program will retain a particular focus, such as hematologic oncology focusing on training in lymphoma, leukemia, and bone marrow transplant, or a combination of breast and gynecologic oncology.

Although the emphasis of clinical training will be in the outpatient arena, to achieve comprehensive exposure to a specific clinical area, particularly the hematologic malignancies, fellows may rotate through inpatient services, including leukemia, lymphoma, autologous stem cell transplant, allogeneic bone marrow transplant, and cellular therapy.

As part of multidisciplinary training, fellows in the Advanced Oncology Fellowship Program will also be trained in the conduct of human subject research. Fellows will be assigned to a mentor within the area of clinical focus. The mentor will be directly responsible for supervising the fellow and will meet with the fellow once weekly to review the fellow’s progress. During this aspect of training, fellows will learn:

In addition to mentor-mediated supervision, the fellow will be evaluated at least twice yearly by the Service Chief of the area of clinical focus and the fellowship program directors. 

 

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Michal Sternschuss, MD

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