Education and Training Opportunities
Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program
The Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare training program in hematology/oncology represents a merger of three previously independent programs in the two subspecialties at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), Brigham and women's Hospital (BWH), and the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) which took place in December, 1995 as part of a formal collaboration between the three institutes. The goal of the Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare training program is to develop academically oriented physicians who will become future leaders in clinical and laboratory investigation and clinical teaching. The program offers the opportunity for training in only hematology or oncology, but it is anticipated that the vast majority of fellows will elect to train in both subspecialties as defined in the 36-month program by the American Board of Internal Medicine. The program is structured to include an initial year of intensive clinical training followed by two or more years of in-depth clinical and/or basic research training during which time an additional six months of clinical experience may be obtained.
Clinical Training in Hematology/Medical Oncology
During the first year of training, fellows divide their time between the Longwood and Massachusetts General Hospital campuses. Together, these Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare institutions comprise one of the largest centers for the evaluation and treatment of cancer in the nation. The combined institutions have over 1,400 beds, more than 100 of which are assigned to medical oncology and hematology, and nearly 40 of which are dedicated to bone marrow transplantation. The Longwood campus of the program includes the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Brigham and Women's Hospital, located directly across the street. At the Longwood site, ambulatory hematology and oncology services are provided on four separate floors of the DFCI, while inpatient services are provided at the BWH; both inpatient and outpatient services are provided at the MGH. At each campus, the ambulatory hematology and oncology experience of the fellows are organized primarily around disease-specific programs (i.e. hematologic malignancies, gastrointestinal cancer, thoracic oncology, women's cancer, benign hematology, etc.). The inpatient experience involves the care of hematology and medical oncology inpatients and bone marrow transplant patients, and includes the responsibility of providing consultative services in hematology and medical oncology to a varied population of patients. Many members of the clinical faculty for the program participate in patient care activities in all three of these component institutions. The DFCI, BWH, and MGH are all teaching affiliates of the Harvard Medical School and all members of the program's faculty hold academic appointments at the Harvard Medical School.
During the clinical year, fellows acquire a panel of patients for whom they provide longitudinal, primary care in oncology and hematology. Each of these patients is managed under the direct supervision of a faculty member. A wide variety of teaching conferences are offered to trainees, including a twice-weekly orientation lecture series held each summer, a weekly hematology-medical oncology grand rounds, as well as weekly new patient conferences which are held separately at both the Longwood Avenue and MGH campuses. In addition, disease oriented teaching sessions occur on a weekly basis at both geographic sites at which fellows actively participate. These are sponsored by the disease-oriented programs.
Training Beyond the First Year
During the autumn of the first year of fellowship, each trainee begins discussions regarding the exploration of various options for investigative efforts fashioned around the trainee's individual interest. At the beginning of the second training year, fellows are expected to enter such an investigative program to begin a period of detailed training and research which will, hopefully, culminate and each candidate assuming her/his own independent research program in a respected academic institution. The length required to complete this task will vary depending upon the past experience of each fellow. A panoply of investigative opportunities, ranging from the most fundamental molecular biology to clinical trials and health outcome analyses are available at the DFCI, BWH, and MGH as well as laboratories located at the MGH Cancer Center in Charlestown, the Harvard Medical School, the Children's Hospital, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. These institutions comprise the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, a federally designated comprehensive cancer center. The past record of trainees who have completed their scientific training in this environment is excellent, and the program faculty views the successful training and academic placement of its clinical trainees as a fundamental responsibility.
Application Procedure
All applications for this program are now processed through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). To begin the process, please visit http://www.aamc.org/audienceeras.htm. Please bear in mind that this program is listed under Brigham and Women's Hospital in ERAS, not Dana-Farber. The deadline for applications is March 1.
Kim Bremner, Fellowship CoordinatorPhone: (617) 632-3474
Fax: (617) 632-2260
E:mail: kim_bremner@dfci.harvard.edu
