good to see so many people applying to heme-onc this year. haven't been checking this thread for a while. good to see that there are still a few people like me who went through last year's application process still reading this thread. hi clueless! just want to share a few tips and answer a few questions.
one major tip: i know heme-onc is getting more competitive, and most people now are applying everywhere to a ton of programs. but before you start doing that, really think about what you want to do in the long term first. are you all about academics and research, or do you want to go into private practice where the money is? try to be realistic. i know most programs are going to appear as they only want people who love to have a career in research, but the truth is, even the most hard-core academic programs produce many fellows that end up going into private practice. if you feel that you are more likely to go into private practice, try to focus on programs in areas where you wouldn't mind settling down. because ultimately, local connections are more likely to land you good private practice jobs instead of academic reputation alone.
Hi Inthian, I am planning to apply to Fred Hutch too and I when I am about to choose the track there were three options - Hematology-Oncology (18 mos clinical) (Fellowship), Medical Oncology Only (12 mos clinical) (Fellowship) and Fellowship. Do you know which one is the 3 year fellowship program? or do I have to select two tracks: Fellowship and Hematology - Oncology?
Just a little lost
a litle bit about Fred Hutch. it really is a decent program, in fact it was my first choice, but mainly because i wanted to go to seattle more than i really wanted to be at Fred Hutch. like clueless said, it's big on bone marrow transplant, and the hematology department is really the biggest thing there. the word on the street is that you don't go there for solid tumor. that is changing slowly as they are working harder to develop their onc program. when i interviewed there last year, a few of the fellows did tell me that they were going into private practice, but by far the majority were going into academics. however, there's one caveat, they actually expect that at the end of your fellowship, you should already have a research grant, then pack up your bag and go somewhere else for an academic position. so most of them don't end up staying in seattle. one more thing, if you do their heme-onc track, be prepared to spend 3.5 years, while their med-onc track in 3 years (but you can't double-board in heme and onc). last year, there were only 3 spots in the combined heme-onc track, but 6 spots in the med-onc track. in addition, the med-onc track didn't fill during the match. so if you are dead set on going to Fred Hutch, and don't necessarily want to double board, then by all means apply to the Med-Onc track, your chance of matching there is much higher. the combined heme-onc track is really run by the Heme department, so they are looking more for someone interested in Heme. i applied for the heme-onc track, and ended up matching somewhere else, but if i had applied for the med-onc track, i probably would've matched there. ultimately, i think i would still rather double board and keep my options open rather than doing only med-onc.
anyway, hope that helps.
