Official 2015-2016 Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Application Cycle

[batdoc5678]

Any thoughts on the Uni of Arkansas program. Contemplating whether to go or not. Flights to Little rock are way too expensive!

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[BrownianMotion]

Would appreciate your input on my list:

Emory
Jefferson
Oklahoma
Medical College of Augusta
Cincinnati
West Virginia
Mississippi
East Carolina
Michigan State
Houston Methodist

Location not as important. Interested in solid tumor. Possibly academics.

 

[gutonc]

Any thoughts on the Uni of Arkansas program. Contemplating whether to go or not. Flights to Little rock are way too expensive!

Well known for their myeloma service and research (Total Therapy), but apparently fellows don't rotate on it. It's otherwise an average program. If you're hurting for interviews, definitely go. If cost is an issue for flights, consider flying to Memphis which might be cheaper.

If you're already sitting on 10 offers, you can probably safely skip it.

 

[Rituxin420]

Can the guru 's in this thread please help me with ranking. I know most of my programs are not super competitive,but still help is appreciated. Interested in academics

-Uab.
-UT San anotonio.
-Monterfiore/einstein moses& weiler campus.
-Alleghany general
-Uni of louisville
-Georgia reagent uni
-Uni of missisipi.
-St john providence, detroit.

 

[gutonc]

Can the guru 's in this thread please help me with ranking. I know most of my programs are not super competitive,but still help is appreciated. Interested in academics

-Uab.
-UT San anotonio.
-Monterfiore/einstein moses& weiler campus.
-Alleghany general
-Uni of louisville
-Georgia reagent uni
-Uni of missisipi.
-St john providence, detroit.

Move Allegheny down a slot or 3 (unless you really loved it) and leave it alone.

 

[Rituxin420]

Thank you for the feedback

 

[gutonc]

Would appreciate your input on my list:

Emory
Jefferson
Oklahoma
Medical College of Augusta
Cincinnati
West Virginia
Mississippi
East Carolina
Michigan State
Houston Methodist

Location not as important. Interested in solid tumor. Possibly academics.

I'd move Cincy and Methodist up...probably both above Oklahoma. But you could leave it the way it is and be fine.

 

[BrownianMotion]

I'd move Cincy and Methodist up...probably both above Oklahoma. But you could leave it the way it is and be fine.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[BrownianMotion]

Would appreciate your input on my list:

Emory
Jefferson
Oklahoma
Medical College of Augusta
Cincinnati
West Virginia
Mississippi
East Carolina
Michigan State
Houston Methodist

Location not as important. Interested in solid tumor. Possibly academics.

It's quiet here now. If anyone is bored, feel free to make suggestions. I'm appreciative to gut-onc for his

 

[pembro]

Some input on my top 7 list: Mayo/Pitt/UNC/Wisc/Miami/UAB/MUSC

 

[indsha008]

@DrVanNostran 's advice for us. Just posting it here and hoping to start some healthy discussions here. This thread is suddenly a dull, boring one.

My advice to interviewees on ranking:

1. Be honest about your goals when you rank, private vs academics. I know you know.

2. Pay close attention to the level of fellow happiness and general enthusiasm. If you liked the culture of your residency program, look for something similar.

3. Location. Is proximity to family important? Do you need a big city?

4. Overall support for fellows--money for conferences, good education, supportive staff. This is hard to tell on an interview, but see if you can dig t out of the fellows.

5. Convenience. How many hospitals do you cover? Are they close to each other? Does the hospital have resident covered services?

6. Fellowship rankings, U.S. News ranking do not matter.

Pay attention to things that really matter to you. Your experience is much more rewarding if you are at a place that you are happy.

Good luck

 

[gutonc]

Some input on my top 7 list: Mayo/Pitt/UNC/Wisc/Miami/UAB/MUSC

I'd personally put Mayo below Wisconsin but that's for personal reasons and has nothing to do with the program itself. Otherwise I like your list the way it is.

 

[batdoc5678]

Baylor, Houston is a big name program but I was not very impressed with the interview. Fellows seem overworked from clinical duties. Interview day was disorganized and they did not give much info. I also heard that they are having funding issues and may downsize the number of fellows. Anybody with any current info about the program?

 

[Pertuzumab]

Baylor, Houston is a big name program but I was not very impressed with the interview. Fellows seem overworked from clinical duties. Interview day was disorganized and they did not give much info. I also heard that they are having funding issues and may downsize the number of fellows. Anybody with any current info about the program?

Not really. But from your list, I would put Wisconsin and Indy at the top followed by Mayo and then the rest based on your interview impressions.

 

[batdoc5678]

Not really. But from your list, I would put Wisconsin and Indy at the top followed by Mayo and then the rest based on your interview impressions.

Thanks for your input!

 

[DrMikeScott]

Baylor, Houston is a big name program but I was not very impressed with the interview. Fellows seem overworked from clinical duties. Interview day was disorganized and they did not give much info. I also heard that they are having funding issues and may downsize the number of fellows. Anybody with any current info about the program?

Got the same impression as you. Poorly organized interview day, fellows seem very over worked. If you are interested in academics and wanted to get protected time for research - you would likely have to do a 4th year with the T32.

 

[majahops]

I would greatly appreciate any input that anybody might have on my rank list. Am I really missing the boat with any of my ranks?

Jefferson (my dream program)
UC Davis
U Colorado
Dartmouth
Cornell
Maryland
MUSC
Wake Forest
VCU
U Florida
Penn State
Drexel
Cooper
Lehigh
Loma Linda
Louisville

Thank you so much for your consideration.

 

[indsha008]

UColorado and Cornell deserve to be higher than Jefferson and Wake Forest just after Jefferson. Otherwise it looks ok to me.

I would greatly appreciate any input that anybody might have on my rank list. Am I really missing the boat with any of my ranks?

Jefferson (my dream program)
UC Davis
U Colorado
Dartmouth
Cornell
Maryland
MUSC
Wake Forest
VCU
U Florida
Penn State
Drexel
Cooper
Lehigh
Loma Linda
Louisville

Thank you so much for your consideration.

 

[visari]

I would greatly appreciate any input that anybody might have on my rank list. Am I really missing the boat with any of my ranks?

Jefferson (my dream program)
UC Davis
U Colorado
Dartmouth
Cornell
Maryland
MUSC
Wake Forest
VCU
U Florida
Penn State
Drexel
Cooper
Lehigh
Loma Linda
Louisville

Thank you so much for your consideration.

I don't know what your interests or geographic preferences are but based on strength alone I would easily put Colorado, Cornell and Maryland above Jefferson

 

[visari]

Some input on my top 7 list: Mayo/Pitt/UNC/Wisc/Miami/UAB/MUSC

I would personally put Pitt below UNC and Wisconsin, and UAB above Miami. Mayo is a great program but it's in Rochester

 

[visari]

Would appreciate your input on my list:

Emory
Jefferson
Oklahoma
Medical College of Augusta
Cincinnati
West Virginia
Mississippi
East Carolina
Michigan State
Houston Methodist

Location not as important. Interested in solid tumor. Possibly academics.

Emory is the only one that stands out. The rest are pretty much the same but I think Cincinnati should be above Georgia if you want to do solids. If you change your mind to do malignant hem, cincy should be completely off that list... when I interviewed there there was no allo transplants and almost no leukemias and only 2 malignant hem faculty

 

[gutonc]

I would greatly appreciate any input that anybody might have on my rank list. Am I really missing the boat with any of my ranks?

Jefferson (my dream program)
UC Davis
U Colorado
Dartmouth
Cornell
Maryland
MUSC
Wake Forest
VCU
U Florida
Penn State
Drexel
Cooper
Lehigh
Loma Linda
Louisville

Thank you so much for your consideration.

If Jeff is your dream, then go for it. But from a strict program strength perspective:
Colorado
Cornell
Dartmouth/UMD
Wake/Jeff
The rest of them

 

[doctorplatelet]

Thanks everyone for keeping the thread active and interesting.... heres how i have my list now...Interested in early phase trials and thrombosis research...
I overdid interviews , but better safe than sorry.. here it goes... any comments are appreciated on rearranging the list...


USC
CCF
CWRU
RPCI
Indy
MUSC
Nebraska
PennState
StonyBrook
Einstein
Louisville
Rochester
Umass
UIC
Drexel
HenryFord
Allegheny
Einstein Philly
Cooper

 

[Pertuzumab]

@DrVanNostran 's advice for us. Just posting it here and hoping to start some healthy discussions here. This thread is suddenly a dull, boring one.

My advice to interviewees on ranking:

1. Be honest about your goals when you rank, private vs academics. I know you know.

2. Pay close attention to the level of fellow happiness and general enthusiasm. If you liked the culture of your residency program, look for something similar.

3. Location. Is proximity to family important? Do you need a big city?

4. Overall support for fellows--money for conferences, good education, supportive staff. This is hard to tell on an interview, but see if you can dig t out of the fellows.

5. Convenience. How many hospitals do you cover? Are they close to each other? Does the hospital have resident covered services?

6. Fellowship rankings, U.S. News ranking do not matter.

Pay attention to things that really matter to you. Your experience is much more rewarding if you are at a place that you are happy.

Good luck

This is so true, especially the last part. Reputation alone should not completely change your rank decision. You really should go by the outlined training experience, what you saw on interview day and talking to the fellows. There are so many underrated programs, and some of the "big names" may not be so big anymore but their reputation may still be holding. Going through residency and all its scut work, something as simple as an efficient EMR (which probably does not exist) and a personal cubicle may make all the difference in your happiness during fellowship. Obviously make sure you get decent training, but you don't have to be in Colorado if you like Jefferson (@majahops) simply because its "Colorado".

 

[DrVanNostran]

Some input on my top 7 list: Mayo/Pitt/UNC/Wisc/Miami/UAB/MUSC

Pitt: Phenomenal program with an amazing PD. Good academic support, but it seems like you cover alot.

UNC: Pretty amazing new hospital, fellow support system and PD. The only reason they fell on my rank list was salary and benefits were not that great for a family. Otherwise, one of the best programs I interviewed at.

Wisconsin: I absolutely loved Madison, the program, the PD and the program structure.

I didn't interview at Mayo, but 4 years is a deal buster for me.

 

[DrVanNostran]

This is so true, especially the last part. Reputation alone should not completely change your rank decision. You really should go by the outlined training experience, what you saw on interview day and talking to the fellows. There are so many underrated programs, and some of the "big names" may not be so big anymore but their reputation may still be holding. Going through residency and all its scut work, something as simple as an efficient EMR (which probably does not exist) and a personal cubicle may make all the difference in your happiness during fellowship. Obviously make sure you get decent training, but you don't have to be in Colorado if you like Jefferson (@majahops) simply because its "Colorado".

All I wanted was cubicle. I got a shared closet with epic that doesn't alway work. Cubicle/office space is an important factor IMO!

 

[majahops]

I don't know what your interests or geographic preferences are but based on strength alone I would easily put Colorado, Cornell and Maryland above Jefferson

Thanks so much for the feedback. Jefferson at #1 is the only thing I am entirely sure of. It's the other ranks that I am not completely sure of. Does this mean you think UC Davis and Dartmouth should go below those 3 you named as well?

Thanks so much again!!!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[majahops]

If Jeff is your dream, then go for it. But from a strict program strength perspective:
Colorado
Cornell
Dartmouth/UMD
Wake/Jeff
The rest of them

As always, your feedback is phenomenal and greatly appreciated.

 

[mbs2380]

Does this seem right in terms of strength of programs (no geographic preference)-Interest w Hem malignancy:
Mayo Rochester
Indy
UW (Madison)
Mayo Arizona
U Miami
Mayo Florida
Arkansas
VCU
MCG
Oklahoma

 

[visari]

Thanks so much for the feedback. Jefferson at #1 is the only thing I am entirely sure of. It's the other ranks that I am not completely sure of. Does this mean you think UC Davis and Dartmouth should go below those 3 you named as well?

Thanks so much again!!!

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Dartmouth is a good program but location is horrible. I don't know much about UC Davis

 

[visari]

Does this seem right in terms of strength of programs (no geographic preference)-Interest w Hem malignancy:
Mayo Rochester
Indy
UW (Madison)
Mayo Arizona
U Miami
Mayo Florida
Arkansas
VCU
MCG
Oklahoma

Your top 3 are a no brainer... I'd personally put Madison above Indy but there's nothing wrong with the way you have them, and honestly I think Mayo (the real one) trumps both of them easily in malignant hem and BMT. The rest of your list you can rank in any order... Miami seems a little too high but I'd totally understand not wanting to go to Little Rock or Augusta or OKC

 

[hermionegranger]

@DrVanNostran 's advice for us. Just posting it here and hoping to start some healthy discussions here. This thread is suddenly a dull, boring one.

My advice to interviewees on ranking:

1. Be honest about your goals when you rank, private vs academics. I know you know.

2. Pay close attention to the level of fellow happiness and general enthusiasm. If you liked the culture of your residency program, look for something similar.

3. Location. Is proximity to family important? Do you need a big city?

4. Overall support for fellows--money for conferences, good education, supportive staff. This is hard to tell on an interview, but see if you can dig t out of the fellows.

5. Convenience. How many hospitals do you cover? Are they close to each other? Does the hospital have resident covered services?

6. Fellowship rankings, U.S. News ranking do not matter.

Pay attention to things that really matter to you. Your experience is much more rewarding if you are at a place that you are happy.

Good luck

This was wonderful. Thanks for the reminders! I keep changing my rank list.

 

[hermionegranger]

Got the same impression as you. Poorly organized interview day, fellows seem very over worked. If you are interested in academics and wanted to get protected time for research - you would likely have to do a 4th year with the T32.

Same impression unfortunately.

 

[hermionegranger]

Is anyone else having trouble figuring out the true academic/private practice placement of fellows of various programs? It seems that as hospital systems buy community practices and hospitals, the fellowship programs are counting those fellows as "going into academics" when they are really doing community practice at a satellite university affiliated hospital?

 

[Pertuzumab]

Thanks everyone for keeping the thread active and interesting.... heres how i have my list now...Interested in early phase trials and thrombosis research...
I overdid interviews , but better safe than sorry.. here it goes... any comments are appreciated on rearranging the list...


USC
CCF
CWRU
RPCI
Indy
MUSC
Nebraska
PennState
StonyBrook
Einstein
Louisville
Rochester
Umass
UIC
Drexel
HenryFord
Allegheny
Einstein Philly
Cooper

I would have Indy second. RPCI is probably stronger than CCF and CWRU but since Buffalo is worse than Cleveland you can get away with your current order. Doesn't really matter what you have below number 7.

 

[lhwonpa]

Any thoughts about UNC vs Duke? Both in the same area geographically and impressed with both programs.

 

[Biomedstar001]

What are the strengths of buffalo program? Name of big guys there? Thanks!

 

[WhatTheHezmana]

Is anyone else having trouble figuring out the true academic/private practice placement of fellows of various programs? It seems that as hospital systems buy community practices and hospitals, the fellowship programs are counting those fellows as "going into academics" when they are really doing community practice at a satellite university affiliated hospital?

I think it's tricky. Certainly it is impressive when [insert high percentage] of fellows go into academics but the more I think about it, the more I also wonder if it is a function of the type of candidates they wind up recruiting. I know at least one person in the past who went to a VERY good academic program but in the process turned down some other really big names in the field because they wanted to go into community practice and felt that some of the big names would not prepare them well for general oncology practice.

 

[darkelven29]

Want to do clinical research/solid cancers. How does this look?

1. Hopkins
2. Penn
3. Univ of Chicago
4. Columbia
5. Vanderbilt
6. OHSU
7. Ohio State
8. Fox Chase
9. Colorado
10. Georgetown

 

[airmax]

Help with this list. Input much appreciated!

1. Yale (loved the program, but a big move for me)
2. U Chicago (not a big move)
3. U of Colorado
4. WSU/Karmanos (close to family)
5. Henry Ford (same as 4)
6. Vandy (great name, got a bad feeling from the interview)
7. Boston U
8. U of Kansas

 

[Pertuzumab]

Want to do clinical research/solid cancers. How does this look?

1. Hopkins
2. Penn
3. Univ of Chicago
4. Columbia
5. Vanderbilt
6. OHSU
7. Ohio State
8. Fox Chase
9. Colorado
10. Georgetown

Impressive.

 

[ETA]

Thanks everyone for keeping the thread active and interesting.... heres how i have my list now...Interested in early phase trials and thrombosis research...
I overdid interviews , but better safe than sorry.. here it goes... any comments are appreciated on rearranging the list...


USC
CCF
CWRU
RPCI
Indy
MUSC
Nebraska
PennState
StonyBrook
Einstein
Louisville
Rochester
Umass
UIC
Drexel
HenryFord
Allegheny
Einstein Philly
Cooper

This is subjective. You have plenty of programs belonging to the same tier. No particular one stands out.

1) CWRU (big GI program, decent mal-heme)
2) Indy (GU) or CCF (most benign heme of the other 2) or RPCI (mix of everything)
3) USC or MUSC or Nebraska (lymphoma)
4) Rochester (mal-heme/lymphoma) or Einstein
5) UIC or Umass or Drexel or HenryFord
rest...

 

[ETA]

Want to do clinical research/solid cancers. How does this look?

1. Hopkins
2. Penn
3. Univ of Chicago
4. Columbia
5. Vanderbilt
6. OHSU
7. Ohio State
8. Fox Chase
9. Colorado
10. Georgetown

My take.

1) Hopkins (anything you want to do, they probably have it)
2) Penn (lots of news on CART and mal-heme)
3) Chicago (head/neck, leukemia - particularly ALL)
4) Columbia (don't know much about their solid program but they have good mal-heme) or Ohio State (lung, GI, mal-heme)
5) Vanderbilt (breast) or Colorado (lung, GI) or OHSU (not familiar except for CML)
6) Georgetown (GI) or Fox chase (great private practice program)

 

[gutonc]

Help with this list. Input much appreciated!

1. Yale (loved the program, but a big move for me)
2. U Chicago (not a big move)
3. U of Colorado
4. WSU/Karmanos (close to family)
5. Henry Ford (same as 4)
6. Vandy (great name, got a bad feeling from the interview)
7. Boston U
8. U of Kansas

I'd personally put Yale at 3, Vandy at 4 and leave the list along otherwise. But your order is totally reasonably as well. If this is how you liked them, then go for it.

 

[ETA]

Help with this list. Input much appreciated!

1. Yale (loved the program, but a big move for me)
2. U Chicago (not a big move)
3. U of Colorado
4. WSU/Karmanos (close to family)
5. Henry Ford (same as 4)
6. Vandy (great name, got a bad feeling from the interview)
7. Boston U
8. U of Kansas

My preference.

1) Chicago
2) Yale or Vandy (lost several faculty) or Colorado depending on focus, location
3) Karmanos (early phase clinical trial)
4) KUMC (private practice training)
5) BU (amyloid center, public hospital)

 

[Pertuzumab]

I realize this might be somewhat crazy, but here is my list:

1. Mayo Arizona (loved the faculty/fellows, focus on education, protected time for research, big names in myeloma, MPNs)
2. Baylor Houston (NO protected time for research at all, fellows seemed unhappy, didn't give too much info about rotations)
3. Wake Forest (had a bad vibe, fellows overworked, strength is in benign hem mostly, can get research time if you ask for it but most don't)
4. Miami (big names in hem malignancy, 2 separate hospital systems, not exactly excited about moving to miami)
5. Nebraska (not much to say)

Am I committing career suicide?

 

[majahops]

There has been great feedback regarding the more popular programs, but I was wondering if anybody happened to know about the relative quality of the less popular programs on my list:

MUSC
VCU
U Florida
Penn State
Drexel
Cooper
Lehigh
Loma Linda
Louisville

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[gutonc]

I realize this might be somewhat crazy, but here is my list:

1. Mayo Arizona (loved the faculty/fellows, focus on education, protected time for research, big names in myeloma, MPNs)
2. Baylor Houston (NO protected time for research at all, fellows seemed unhappy, didn't give too much info about rotations)
3. Wake Forest (had a bad vibe, fellows overworked, strength is in benign hem mostly, can get research time if you ask for it but most don't)
4. Miami (big names in hem malignancy, 2 separate hospital systems, not exactly excited about moving to miami)
5. Nebraska (not much to say)

Am I committing career suicide?

No. Finish any one of those programs and you'll get a job. If that's how you liked them, rank them that way.

 

[Pertuzumab]

No. Finish any one of those programs and you'll get a job. If that's how you liked them, rank them that way.

Thanks! Just wanted to make sure I'm not making an obvious mistake.

 

[WhatTheHezmana]

Want to do clinical research/solid cancers. How does this look?

1. Hopkins
2. Penn
3. Univ of Chicago
4. Columbia
5. Vanderbilt
6. OHSU
7. Ohio State
8. Fox Chase
9. Colorado
10. Georgetown

I would probably swap Vanderbilt and Columbia but that's just me. I think one could make an argument for whatever order you'd like in your top 5 and would be surprised if you fell past those