Core educational objectives for Hematology/Medical Oncology fellows over 36 months of training are the following:
- Achieve clinical expertise in the care of patients with neoplastic and hematologic disorders
- Develop skills in the management of cancer complications, including pain control and end-of-life issues
- Achieve competence in the procedure of bone marrow aspiration and biopsies, as well as in the interpretation of results
- Achieve competence in interpreting hematologic laboratory results, such as coagulation, flow cytometry, and immuno-hematology
- Be provided guidance in the development of ethical conduct in practicing these specialties
- Optimize understanding of the scientific basis of these diseases
- Develop a methodology for critical evaluation of published research
- Engage in original scholarly research
- Be provided with the varied tools necessary to launch a successful academic career
- Develop a genuine enthusiasm for patient care and the investigative aspects of hematology and medical oncology
The clinical curriculum is concentrated over 18 months in Years 1-2 of fellowship and is dedicated to learning the fundamentals of classical hematology, hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Our goal is for fellows to harness this knowledge to think critically about patients with hematologic and oncologic diseases. Fellows gain this broad exposure by rotating through both, inpatient and outpatient rotations. Inpatient rotations include Hematology consults, Solid Tumor consults, Leukemia, Lymphoma/Multiple Myeloma and Stem Cell Transplant & Cellular Therapy (at all MSH), Palliative Care consults (MSH) and Inpatient Hematology/Oncology Consults (MSW). During outpatient rotations, fellows rotate through outpatient disease-focused practices (Ruttenberg Treatment & Dubin Breast Center at Mount Sinai Hospital, Mount Sinai Union Square, Blavatnik Family Chelsea Medical Center, and Mount Sinai West. Fellows also gain experience in key procedures (interpretation of peripheral blood smears and bone marrow aspirates, performance of bone marrow aspirate and biopsies, administration of chemotherapy via lumbar puncture or Omaya catheter) and in writing chemotherapy.
The latter half of the fellowship program (Years 2-3) is devoted to protected research time during which fellows choose a mentor and are guided through the process of developing a research project. Fellows are able to choose from a broad range of faculty mentors focusing on a diverse array of research (basic science, translational, clinical, outcomes, quality improvement or medical education) within the Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Tisch Cancer Institute or other institutes within Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Core Competencies:
Throughout fellowship training, fellows are evaluated regularly using the ACGME milestones in the following Core Competencies:
- Medical Knowledge
- Patient Care
- Practice Based Learning and Improvement
- Interpersonal and Communication Skills
- Professionalism
- Systems Based Practice
Increasing Levels of Responsibility and Supervision:
Fellows are directly supervised by the Hematology/Medical Oncology faculty during each rotation. As fellows progress through fellowship, trainees acquire graduated levels of responsibility for each rotation. Learning objectives for each rotation by level of learner (Year 1, 2, 3) are provided through New Innovations which outline the differing expectations with regard to medical knowledge, patient management skills, procedural skills and level of responsibility. At the end of 36 months of fellowship training, fellows are expected to have gained the knowledge and experience to be ready for independent practice in Hematology/Medical Oncology.
Educational Resources:
Fellows have access to a variety of educational resources throughout fellowship training:
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Levy Library, including online access to key textbooks, PubMed access to relevant publications in Hematology/Medical Oncology and pharmacology databases
- Access to our dedicated fellowship intranet site with access to suggested reading lists, core curriculum lecture slides and slides of fellow-led scholarly presentations for review
- Board review curriculum, including videos, access to ASH and ASCO board review materials and sponsored attendance at the MSKCC Board Review Course for board eligible 2nd or 3rd year fellows
- A weekly schedule of fellowship, divisional, and departmental conferences
Clinical Competency Committee:
The ACGME Next Accreditation System (NAS) requires fellows to meet specified milestones during their three years of training as they progress from novice learners to trainees ready for unsupervised practice. The Clinical Competency Committee (CCC) meets every six months and reviews each fellow’s performance to determine if trainees are progressing and meeting expected milestones. If there are any deficiencies found in meeting milestones, the Program Director and Associate Program Directors will meet with the fellow to determine strategies for improvement. All fellows meet with the Program Director semi-annually to review all evaluations, including the CCC review.