Program Curriculum
The Hematology/Medical Oncology Fellowship Program is composed of an education model consisting of mandatory clinical rotations, robust educational programming, and strong career development in research. The combination of these offers fellows unprecedented levels of mentorship and guidance during their training.
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, 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 The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Inpatient Rotations
Outpatient Rotations
A growing proportion of clinical activity in Hematology/Medical Oncology occurs in the outpatient setting. Over the course of the clinical curriculum, fellows will rotate through disease-focused outpatient rotations in the Ruttenberg Treatment and Dubin Breast Centers (MSH), Mount Sinai Downtown Union Square and Chelsea (MSBI) and Mount Sinai West (MSW) to gain expertise in management and care delivery of this key aspect of our specialty. Fellows will rotate through the following disease-focused rotations in 2-4 week blocks:
- Classical Hematology
- Malignant Hematology
- Breast Cancer
- GU/GYN Malignancies
- GI/Sarcoma/Melanoma/Neuro-Oncology
- Thoracic/Head & Neck Malignancies
Year-by-Year Schedule
In Weeks
PGY-1
PGY-2
PGY-3
Specialized Curriculum
July Onboarding Curriculum
Block-long immersive orientation program for the incoming Year 1 fellows focusing on a broad menu of topics including basic science, translational applications of basic science to oncology, clinical research as well as an introduction to the clinical practice of Hematology/Medical Oncology. The overall objective is to provide fellows with an initial exposure, glossary of terms and base knowledge with which they can build upon as they rotate through all of their subsequent rotations during training. Fellows spend each morning in didactic and workshop sessions; afternoons are spent in one of the disease-focused outpatient rotations.
Academic Half-Day Curriculum
Thursdays 1-4PM Comprehensive disease-focused educational series incorporating a broad spectrum of Hematology/Medical Oncology topics based on the ABIM Blueprint, ASCO, ASH and ACGME curricula. Topics are disease-focused and or scientifically thematic (pharmacogenomics, developmental therapeutics, genomics). Speakers include Mount Sinai faculty members from Hematology/Medical Oncology, Pathology, Surgical Oncology, Palliative Care and others as well as external speakers.
Oncotalk Communication Curriculum
Held annually in the Fall or Spring Oncotalk is an immersive 2-day communication and simulation workshop led by Cardinale Smith, MD PhD, Professor of Medicine (Hematology/Medical Oncology and Palliative Care) in collaboration with additional faculty members. Through actors and scripted patient encounters, fellows learn communication techniques to enhance their patient skills when discussing advanced directives and goals of care, delivering bad news, discussing a change in therapy and other related topics.
Hematology-Medical Oncology Conferences
Disease-Specific Tumor Boards (Leukemia, Lymphoma, GI, Breast, etc.)
Various times, weekly schedule provided via email
Fellows in Years 2 and 3 attend disease specific tumor boards in alignment with their continuity clinic and outpatient rotations to present relevant cases and to build expertise in patient care and medical knowledge in a multi-disciplinary environment.
Contact Us
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai One Gustave L. Levy Place Box 1079 New York, NY 10029 (212) 241-4705