Overview
ACGME Fellowship Training
The Pritzker School of Medicine of The University of Chicago is an academic medical institution of national and international renown with a mission of excellence in clinical care, research and education. The Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program is designed to educate physician scientists, teachers and clinicians of distinction in the context of this mission, while at the same time providing indispensable clinical service of the highest quality.
The philosophy of the program is to support each fellow in their individual research and education goals with a mandate to graduate the top hematology and oncology researchers. This is accomplished through excellent mentorship, outstanding scholarly opportunities, and ample protected time.
The training program is accredited by ACGME and best fits the needs of those individuals who wish to pursue a career in academic medicine. A major emphasis is on the generation and application of research information for the solution of problems in the fields of hematology and oncology. The first year is mostly clinical with subsequent two or more years devoted to basic, translational or clinical research. Fellows who complete the three-year program will be fully prepared to enter the academic field of hematology/oncology and will satisfy all of the requirements for certification in hematology and medical oncology as recommended by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Fellows who complete a two-year program will be eligible for certification in either hematology or medical oncology. Opportunities exist for joint training in clinical pharmacology, medical and geriatrics.
Training Environment
*The activities of the Hematology/Oncology faculty encompass a broad range of collaborative research activities in both basic and clinical domains
- Active participant as a full member in Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB). The leadership of this large national cooperative clinical trial group is currently headquartered at The University of Chicago.
- Inpatient services designed and maintained to manage the multiple problems presented by the hematology or oncology patient at our new hospital pavilion, The Center for Care and Discovery.
- Outpatients are seen at the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine (DCAM)
- Interdisciplinary research and clinical training programs which include:
- Formal training in clinical research
- The “state of the art” Gwen and Jules Knapp Center for Biomedical Discovery has 330,760 square feet of new research space for groundbreaking initiatives in the University Of Chicago Division Of Biological Sciences. This facility houses laboratories and office space for principal investigators, postdoctoral students, and graduate students in the departments of medicine and pediatrics, as well as the Cancer Research Center.
Patient Population
The majority of the patients seen by the faculty and fellows of the Section come from the metropolitan Chicago area and Northern Indiana. Approximately 3,000 new patients with malignant diseases are seen each year. The majorities of these individuals are referred to and receive their primary care at this institution while sizeable minorities are referred for “opinion only.”
The clinical training program emphasizes histopathological diagnosis, accurate staging and protocol design, as well as patient care and management. Particular emphasis is given to the emotional needs and quality of life of patients and family members. The interdigitation of basic science, clinical epidemiology and behavioral research is emphasized and pursued.
Expectations of the Faculty in Regard to Fellows
The faculty is committed to basic science, clinical research, teaching, and superior medical care. Fellows are expected to participate actively in one or more of the research programs in either the laboratory or the clinic. Clinical research areas include autologous and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, phase I, II and III drug trials of antineoplastic and chemopreventive agents as well as medical ethics and health outcomes research. The Section is one of the few programs in the country to hold both phase I and phase II cooperative agreements for the study of new chemo-therapeutic agents. Trainees are expected to publish abstracts, reviews and peer-reviewed papers in those research areas in which they participate. Our fellows have usually been successful in obtaining national research honors and awards.
Trainee Requirements
Trainees may be accepted to the program with an M.D. degree, a twelve-month internship in internal medicine and two years of additional residency training in internal medicine. There is a clinical investigator pathway in which trainees with extensive research experience or M.D., Ph.D. degrees may be accepted after internship and one year of residency.
Program Administration
A. Vacations
Each fellow is allotted one month of vacation per year. This time is taken in a single block or in two, 2-week blocks and cannot be taken during an inpatient rotation or consultation service.
B. Meetings
An educational stipend is provided for fellows to attend one national meeting per year, usually in hematology or oncology and are encouraged to prepare abstracts for presentation at these meetings. Presentations or attendance at additional meetings are feasible depending on priority.
C. Support
Stipends for training may come from a number of sources. Typically these sources include the T32 Training grant in Basic Medical Oncology from the National Institutes of Health (including the Public Health Service), private funds, and funds generated from patient-care activities at The University of Chicago Medical Center.