Medical College of Wisconsin Hematology and Oncology Education

The Hematology/Oncology Fellowship uses the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) system and will participate in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) for spots available in 2022.

The Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Inc. (MCWAH) was formed in August 1979 to facilitate administration of the multi-institution education programs. Specifically, the corporation was created to employ the house staff and to provide their stipends and fringe benefits while enrolled in programs of graduate medical and dental education, which are conducted jointly by the Medical College of Wisconsin and its affiliated institutions. Additionally, MCWAH oversees accreditation of its training programs.

MCWAH is governed by a Board of Directors, which comprises of two senior administrators from each member institution. MCWAH's administrative services are provided through the Office of Graduate Medical Education at MCW.

The MCWAH Office is located in Suite 170 on the lower level, north end of Curative Care Network, 1000 N. 92nd St. The phone number is (414) 955-4575. The email address is gme@mcw.edu For more information, view the Graduate Medical Education website.

The mailing address is:
Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals, Inc.
8701 Watertown Plank Rd.
Milwaukee, WI 53226

There are presently 100 residency and fellowship programs conducted jointly by MCW and its affiliated institutions through MCWAH. Each program is supervised and directed by a Program Director. The Program Director, with advice from the Program Advisory Committee and other members of the faculty, is responsible for the selection, supervision, training, evaluation and advancement of residents in the program.

A Graduate Medical Education Council, comprised of program directors of the residency programs and senior administrators from the major affiliates, meets regularly to consider matters common to all programs, to foster interdisciplinary cooperation and to coordinate graduate medical education at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Three residents, elected by their peers, also serve on the Council.

This is a 3-year fellowship program. Clinical expertise in the care of patients with hematologic and oncologic diseases is gained through supervised rotations on key services including, inpatient Hematology/Oncology (Hem/Onc) wards, Consultation service, Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT), Palliative Care, Transfusion Medicine, Ambulatory Care, Radiation Oncology, and related electives. Fellows have a 36-month weekly half-day continuity clinic at the primary hospital, Froedtert Hospital, and a weekly half-day clinic at the secondary hospital, Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, in which they care for patients specifically assigned to them under the supervision of an attending faculty member.

The first year of training consists primarily of monthly rotations on the key services: 3 months each on the inpatient hem/onc services at Froedtert Hospital and Zablocki VA, 2-3 months on the Consult Service, 1 month on Palliative Care, 1 month on Blood and Marrow Transplantation (BMT), and 3 months on core curriculum outpatient clinics. First year fellows are closely supervised and all chemotherapy orders written by them need to be countersigned by an attending physician.

In the second year, some of the above rotations are repeated but fellows now have 6-7 months of elective time for research and other electives. Second year fellows are given more responsibility to manage patients and supervise the internal medicine residents. They are also permitted to sign chemotherapy orders without a countersignature by their attending physicians. The electives exist to provide fellows with additional experience in Neurology-Oncology, Gynecological-Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Transfusion Medicine, Hematopathology, Palliative Care, Clinical Research design, and additional ambulatory disease-focused clinics.

In the third year, fellows are provided with approximately 8-9 months for electives and research and are expected to pursue scholarly activities as evidenced by the writing of research protocols, publications, and presentations at national meetings. The third year fellows are expected to function at a higher level of supervisory capacity with the internal medicine resident team and to take a leadership role in the management of patients during rotations on the Consult Services. The third year fellows work with the Program Director in organizing conferences and meetings related to the fellowship program.

During their training, fellows are expected to participate in conferences, journal clubs, teaching, and research leading to publications and presentations at national meetings (see below).

The clinical rotations are:

• Inpatient Hematology/Oncology service
• Leukemia service
• Consult service
• BMT
• Palliative Care
• Outpatient Clinics (two half-day clinics per week)
• Key electives (e.g. Gynecological-Oncology, Hematopathology, Transfusion Medicine, Neurology-Oncology, Coagulation)

During these rotations, patients will encounter and manage a mix of patients of both sexes with hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, and nonmalignant hematology. This includes (but not limited to) patients with malignancies of the thoracic, head and neck, brain, breast, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, liver, kidney, prostate, testicular, bone, skin, and soft tissue; lymphoma, leukemia, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes, anemias, cytopenias, hemoglobinopathies, and coagulopathies. Pathologic material (biopsies of bone marrow and other tissues and peripheral blood smears) is reviewed by the fellow with the attending physician and appropriate pathologist.

Educational conferences are an important component of the curriculum. These conferences include:

1. Formal core curriculum didactic sessions. Held every week to cover all topics in Hematology and Oncology. These are one-hour education sessions given by key faculty members.
   
   
2. Hematopathology case conference. These conferences are held every week and consist of an in-depth presentation of a case in benign or malignant hematology by a hematopathologist.
   
   
3. Research Conference. Held once a month. Fellows learn about key aspects of conducting clinical research (i.e. protocol writing, grant writing, statistics) as taught by key faculty members.
   
   
4. Tumor Boards. Tumor Boards for Breast Cancer, Thoracic Oncology, Head and Neck Cancer, GU Cancer, Lymphoma, Leukemia and MSK Oncology are held on a weekly or bi-weekly basis at Froedtert Hospital. Additional Tumor Boards are held at the Zablocki VA.
   
   
5. Hematology/Oncology Case conferences. Fellows present on interesting hematology or oncology cases encountered during their training. Held twice a month.
   
   
6. Journal Club. Held once a month to review landmark studies in Hematology and Oncology.
   
   
7. Hematology/Oncology Grand Rounds Conference. Held once per month by invited speakers.

Fellows are provided with the opportunity to attend the annual meetings of the American Society of Hematology and/or the American Society for Clinical Oncology. Fellows may also attend other educational conferences in hematology and/or oncology held by other organizations.

Over a 3-year period, approximately one year is allotted for research and/or elective rotations.

Clinical or basic research opportunities generally begin in the second year of training and extend through the third year. Fellows may pursue laboratory research by working with a mentor engaged in laboratory research in the Cancer Center (including the BMT program) or the Versiti Blood Research Institute. Fellows may pursue clinical research by working with mentors engaged in clinical research within the Division(s), the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research program, or the Palliative Care program. The amount and nature of protected time will depend on the type and nature of the research project.

All attending faculty are full-time faculty of the Medical College of Wisconsin. An attending physician supervises all rotations, including the clinic.