Heme/Onc Fellowship Application Thread

[gutonc]

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Got MSKCC today and OHSU yesterday. OHSU basically said pick a day between now and April. MSKCC offered me 3 dates, one of which will actually work for me.

Anyone else w/ MSKCC interviews want to post the other dates they're interviewing? So far I've got:
1/29
2/2
2/5
2/9
2/14
2/26
3/14

Also got an update (like many here I'm sure) from the Hutch that they're almost done reviewing apps and should be sending out offers soon.


This is on top of a yes already from NYU and a no from DFCI which I expected.

This is all making my Q3 ICU month slightly less painful.

 

[docindi1]

in reply to cherry ghost:
I don't know if indeed there are first round and second rounds, and that they somehow reflect ones competitiveness at the given place....keep in mind they are screening anywhere between 400-700 applications and are inviting in general somewhere between 1-20% of those....what I know indeed happened last year though was, with ERAS introduced for the first time, a lot of places got swamped by applications and realized half way through that they had given out all their initial invitation spots and either significant numbers of applicants had rejected the invitation or they found there were a number of "worthy" candidates still being screened, and thus usually in late february send out a second wave of invitations.
In regards to NY: I initially had applied to a significant number of prograsm all over the country including several in NY, mainly out of anxiety and concerns re my IMG status. During the process it became evident, that this time around, unlike residency, it did not appear to play a mayor role...anyway, what struck me, looking back, that while I had interviews at Sloan Kettering,Penn, DFCI etc I only started to hear from NYU Mt Sinai, Columbia much later in the process....I am mentioning this, as there seem to be quite a few interested in NY and it appeared to me that at least last year the process was significantly delayed for some of those NY programs..

Interestingly an excellent program, that started really late last year was Fred Hutchinson....and I know they where having a hard time to convince some of the eats coast applicants to go there for interviews as interview season was almost over here ( I believe they interviewed from mid march until end april)....I realized this year Fred Hutchinson was one of the first programs to send out interviews....so this is a process in flux and the programs still are adapting to the changes that have come with ERAS and the MATCH...
GL to all of you

Hi German IMG, so glad to know that you still visit here. I had a question as to the kind of research that would get you going places. Basic vs clinical,
the place[do you absolutely need to do research at a top research institute],
do you need to get a Phd[how] or do a res fellowship
And how to be a first author.
I ve been working in a research lab at a small university in a small town for a few months now.Not many projects going on. No publications yet, possible in the next few months, but wouldnt help this year's application. My dilemma is if I need to really get out of this place just for the sake of research?
Any input would be great.

 

[onc-guy]

Rejection from Indiana by e-mail.
Also got e-mail from DFCI saying my application is incomplete. I guess they are still reviewing applications.
good luck.

 

[oncbmtdoc]

Just adding my two bits...
Applying for bothe hem-onc and onc programs...
Congratulations to everyone who has interviews...
some pretty awesome programs....

Well adding my two cents...
interview via email from UT san antonio
Interview via email from ETSU
Rejection via email Indiana
Rejection via email Montefiore....

My creds...
fmg us citizen... some research , Palliative care fellowship + Accepted for BMT fellowship... good scores...
Not sure what my chances are..... seriously wondering what they are looking for....

Any inputs???

 

[Shygirl]

I'm wondering if it's a full moon tonight or something, cause no more than 2 mins after I submitted my prefered dates for MD Anderson, I got an email from MSKCC!!! 😀

I had pretty much written off both programs as pipe dreams so I'm obviously ecstatic! Although my Chair of Medicine has informed me that there's no way I'll get into either since I have almost no research experience, I'm still jumping for joy for the chance to just interview there!

For MEDONC2B: I'm in the same boat as you re: Midwest programs. No word from most of them. I know my home program hasn't sent anything out yet either


Like I said before...RANDOM Good luck everyone!

Congrats!!! 👍 But the underlined stuff is interesting. YOur overall application must have been very strong with other stuff but those two ARE big on research. Have u already practiced in IM or are u graduating this or next year? Do u have PhD? (I hope u don't mind me asking )

 

[JASMAN]

Mayo Rochester really does not want me! They sent me another rejection today! 🙂 Two rejections from them in 3 days! 🙂🙂

 

[inock]

rejection by email

 

[MidwestMD]

Congrats!!! 👍 But the underlined stuff is interesting. YOur overall application must have been very strong with other stuff but those two ARE big on research. Have u already practiced in IM or are u graduating this or next year? Do u have PhD? (I hope u don't mind me asking )

Thanks everyone for the well wishes 🙂


Brooklyneric: got the same interview dates as the ones you already listed for MSKC


Shygirl: To answer your questions, I'm a 3rd yr resident in a competitive residency program in the Midwest. I do NOT have a PhD nor ANY publications (working on a research project as we speak).

I definitely don't think of myself as an outstanding candidate but guess my LOR's must have been pretty strong (no HUGE names in the field, but attendings that I really enjoted working with). That's why I'm so surprised (pleasantly so, of course). I'm kinda embarrased to even show up at the interviews since I'm so underqualified but figure I've got nothing to lose...

Like I said, random 🙄

Updates: UofMichigan just started offering interviews today! The schedule is pretty open w/ any Monday or Tuesday of your choice starting Feb 5th, but be prepared for a LONG day. Heard via phone call this AM

 

[nihmdphd]

does anybody know anything about how good the program at thomas jefferson is. received an invite from thomas jefferson yesterday afternoon by email. they haven't specified the dates yet.

 

[cherry ghost]

thumbs up from UPENN yesterday by email. 👍

Dates are the following:
March 30th
April 6th
April 20th
April 27th

congrats midwestmd and to everyone else this week. looking forward to sharing interview experiences with everyone.

 

[Jack Tu]

does anybody know anything about how good the program at thomas jefferson is. received an invite from thomas jefferson yesterday afternoon by email. they haven't specified the dates yet.

I think Thomas Jefferson is an okay program. It is an NIH designated Cancer Center and they have good research going on there. I personally am interested in cell signalling as it pertains to leukemia/mpd and they have some strong work ongoing in this.

In its proper context against other programs in Philadelphia it is not as good as UPENN, I think it has some advantages over FCCC in some regards, its definitely a cut above other non NCI designated programs.

However looking at your credentials........NIH Phd/ 10 publications with 5 first author....... you may want to play for higher stakes and go to an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center with loads of NIH cash and a high throughput research rate....especially one with research in your area of personal interest.

Good luck.

JK2

 

[MidwestMD]

Got an interview invite by phone from THE Ohio State University today 😉 Sounds like almost any date is open from March-April based on what your research/clinical interests are.

Let's hope the invites keep coming everyone...looks like the Midwest is finally catching up to the East Coast!

 

[cyberdoc2]

No from Mayo clinic.
Yes from Indiana last week and Pittsburgh today. All via email.
Anyone has gone for an interview? My first one is two weeks from now.

 

[Pursuitofellows]

Finally after a long pause, got few more..

Thomas jefferson and UIC.

got a mail from foxchase saying that my application is on hold and they will call me if circumstances change....does it ever happen?

 

[Pursuitofellows]

Just got the second mail from UIC...I was also victim of the first mail...they will start sending interviews in first week of march.....some unnecessary excitement.

 

[oncfinder]

i got the same mail from uic and similar one from utmb. Another rejection from UMDNJ camden.

 

[MidwestMD]

University of Pittsburgh by email today 🙂

March 7, 2007
March 16, 2007
March 23, 2007
March 30, 2007
April 4, 2007
April 11, 2007

 

[happybob]

hi guys, glad to find this thread for heme-onc applicants, it's informational, yet can be anxiety provoking! 🙂

anyway, looks like most of you are either on the east coast or midwest, anyone on the west coast? or applying to west coast programs? haven't heard too much update on the west coast programs, are they just moving at a slower pace than the rest of the country? i guess i'll start with myself. i've applied only to programs on the west coast (California, Oregon, Washington) + cleveland clinic (know someone there and another person going there in 2007).

So far, interviews from cleveland clinic, ucla, uc irvine, scripps. still waiting to hear back from the other programs. did received a couple emails from some programs saying that the application is under reviewed, etc...

anyone else with good news from the west coast?

on a side note, do you guys know usually how many interviews you would need to ensure that you match? i know there's no guarantee, but an estimate? also how many people do programs usually interview for each spot?

 

[gutonc]

I applied to 5 west coast programs. I've gotten the "applications are almost doine being reviewed" email from the Hutch and an interview from OHSU. Stanford, UCSF and USC have been silent so far. I've heard from all but one of the other programs I applied to (Columbia) including an interview from Northwestern today.

As for how many interviews you need to insure a match (understanding that there are no sure things), there are just to many variables to give a reasonable answer.
AMG or IMG?
PhD or significant research/pubs?
AOA?
Community or academic?
"Level" of program (Dana Farber vs. Joe's House o' Heme-Onc)

 

[clueless1]

"Level" of program (Dana Farber vs. Joe's House o' Heme-Onc)

Hey, man - I'm planning on ranking JHHO (Joe's House o' Heme-Onc) as my #1, so show some respect!

UCSF has sent out invites from what I hear, and Stanford is silent. I guess everybody is waiting to see if they made the cut at Fred Hutchinson (theoretically later this week?)...other than that, I think most west-coast programs are present and accounted for.

Incidentally, got my first out-and-out rejection today since DFCI in December (although I have many non-offers from programs that have sent out offers, which I more or less equate to rejections) from MD Anderson. That's the breaks, kid.

I'm taking Step 3 tomorrow. I probably shouldn't be nervous, but I kinda am...is 4 days of studying enough???

 

[thechosendoc4U]

Just curious... Does Hem/Onc give out positions outside of match? For example, Renal goes to prematch only; and while most GI positions are matched, some are giving out even now as "pre-match".

 

[clueless1]

If you are a program in the match, my understanding is that you are not supposed to offer spots outside the match...Having said that, I have heard on good authority that technically, to be a program in the match you only have to offer 1 of your spots through the match - the rest can be offered outside the match. Maybe I am wrong, but that is what I've been told. There is a lot of myth/misinformation about this whole process, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

It's not hard to believe, though, that even if a program technically offers all of their spots through the match, they may have a handshake-deal with some of their own star residents which in effect takes up most/all of their "available through the match" spots. I can think of 1-2 programs that have allegedly already done that, and almost all the top places probably engage in some level of that behavior to a greater or lesser extent. Better the demons you know, as the saying goes...

 

[ghettomd]

Want to congratulate everyone on their interviews... so many strong candidates on this board... i've only got nyu, maryland, and uc davis so far and another 20 pending... can people from the west coast tell me about the program? im a east coast guy

 

[HAM2]

clueless was that rejection from MDACC by mail or email?

 

[inock]

Rejections or invitations?😕
Thanks

 

[happybob]

i also got the interview from uc davis yesterday, nothing else new. still waiting on 9 places, 7 of them in california.

 

[cherry ghost]

since its been a slow week and we really haven't had many posts, i thought i'd add my two cents on some of the topics above. warning: the information below is likely to be of no use to anyone.

1. spots outside the match
-i think clueless1 is dead on with his analysis in that many places take people outside the match.

2. number of interviews needed to guarantee match
-on average i'd say programs interview roughly 10 times the amount of applicants for the number of spots they have. given that number, if you were ranked last on everyone's list, if you interviewed at 10 places you should still match.

3. cali programs
-don't know what's the deal with them other than ucsf and stanford have sent out invites.

lastly, i hear hopkins might be finally done evaluating applications by the end of this week. given that, hopefully tomorrow and friday will be big invitation days and we can end some of the anxiety for now. good luck for now.

 

[clueless1]

clueless was that rejection from MDACC by mail or email?

Email, through the ERAS post office.

Just finished taking day #1 of Step 3...and it pretty much went like all the other USMLE exams, which is to say, I feel like I didn't know 1 d#@mn question for the last 3-4 blocks of questions. I hate those things. The worst part about it is that I have to frickin' go back tomorrow for more punishment. All I want is to pass that stupid exam...

I think Friday we'll start to see some decisions getting made...as germanIMG pointed out earlier, the later in the cycle the programs decide to invite, the less likely they are to get people to come due to already having made travel plans, prior schedule re-arrangements, etc. Although maybe that's a subtle way of cutting down the number of people they actually have to interview - much like a wedding, where you invite 50-60% more people than you intend to actually host, just knowing the odds are half the people won't be able to make it...

Man, am I just really cynical, or is it the seasonal-affective disorder making me sound all crochety all the time????

 

[NEMC]

yesterday interview from TUFTS 🙂
And an email from Urochester saying still reviewing materials.

somebody mentioned UMD interview, can I know a little about your credentials?? Heard this hospital not friendly to IMG..

since its been a slow week and we really haven't had many posts, i thought i'd add my two cents on some of the topics above. warning: the information below is likely to be of no use to anyone.

1. spots outside the match
-i think clueless1 is dead on with his analysis in that many places take people outside the match.

2. number of interviews needed to guarantee match
-on average i'd say programs interview roughly 10 times the amount of applicants for the number of spots they have. given that number, if you were ranked last on everyone's list, if you interviewed at 10 places you should still match.

3. cali programs
-don't know what's the deal with them other than ucsf and stanford has sent out invites.

lastly, i hear hopkins might be finally done evaluating applications by the end of this week. given that, hopefully tomorrow and friday will be big invitation days and we can end some of the anxiety for now. good luck for now.

 

[thechosendoc4U]

I got rejected by Univ of Minnesota today.

By the way, I also applied for MSKCC and MDACC, but no news yet, no interview, and no rejection either. What does this mean? Anxious...

 

[HAM2]

university of florida by email, dates Feb 26, March 2, March 5

 

[atlantagirl]

Hi -

This is kind of off the topic...I'm a PGY2 at a program on the west coast (that shall remain nameless). I'm appying for Heme Onc right now. So far things are going well - I have 12 interviews, at some big name places and some smaller community places.

The thing is, for lots of complicated reasons I have become really unhappy at my current program...I really cannot fathom the idea of staying here for another 18 months. I dream about being able to switch programs and find an open spot for a PGY-3 position.

The thing is, in my rational mind I know this is insane, because I'm sure somehow it would mess up my fellowship chances. My program likes me okay; I'm doing okay generally; I'm just not happy with the program in general; the lack of teaching; the way they handle certain situations.

All of my friends tell me I'm insane and I should just stick it out...

I haven't mentioned a word to anyone at work; i'm just wondering if anyone knows of anyone who was able to switch IM programs in the PGY-3 year, when they're in realtively good standing with the program. Wouldn't this be a major red flag for program directors? Would they find out after the interview?

thanks.

 

[njmedresident]

Hey -

has anyone heard from Columbia or Mount Sinai in New York?

What about U. Chicago, Rush, U. Illinois Chicago, and Northwestern?

Thanks!

 

[clueless1]

Hi -

This is kind of off the topic...I'm a PGY2 at a program on the west coast (that shall remain nameless). I'm appying for Heme Onc right now. So far things are going well - I have 12 interviews, at some big name places and some smaller community places.

The thing is, for lots of complicated reasons I have become really unhappy at my current program...I really cannot fathom the idea of staying here for another 18 months. I dream about being able to switch programs and find an open spot for a PGY-3 position.

The thing is, in my rational mind I know this is insane, because I'm sure somehow it would mess up my fellowship chances. My program likes me okay; I'm doing okay generally; I'm just not happy with the program in general; the lack of teaching; the way they handle certain situations.

All of my friends tell me I'm insane and I should just stick it out...

I haven't mentioned a word to anyone at work; i'm just wondering if anyone knows of anyone who was able to switch IM programs in the PGY-3 year, when they're in realtively good standing with the program. Wouldn't this be a major red flag for program directors? Would they find out after the interview?

thanks.

I can't honestly answer that, because I've never really seen it...I've seen plenty of PGY1 and 2 program swapping, though. While I'd just be purely guessing, I would imagine if you went about the process in a discreet enough way, the timeline of the match means the opportunity is certainly there. By which I mean, the fellowship match is at the end of June (but rank lists are made at the end of May theoretically), and if you were to get a handshake agreement with a different program to start your 3rd year with them, that would occur on July 1st. At that point, you're theoretically already matched to a heme-onc program, so there's nothing anyone can do about it. I'm sure if you just called whichever fellowship you match into after you start at your new program and explain it to them, they'd be okay with it. But even if they weren't, what can they do? Binding agreement, baby!

I think it could be a big negatory, though, if your program catches wind of it at all, because you never know how petty some attendings/PD's can be. Not saying they'd blatantly sabotage you, but if it was a matter of making a phone call to a program or something, it may be an issue. But again, I'm just speculating - if you're really that unhappy, there's no sense in wasting 18 months of your life being miserable. You've already wasted the first 27 years or whatever prior to going into medicine, might as well not add to the misery...😉

 

[clueless1]

Hey -

has anyone heard from Columbia or Mount Sinai in New York?

What about U. Chicago, Rush, U. Illinois Chicago, and Northwestern?

Thanks!

Northwestern's sent out invites, but I think it's rolling. U of Chicago I don't know if anyone's heard from at all...No word from Columbia either. Don't know about any of the others.

 

[Torremolinos]

I don't think that U of C has sent out any invites yet. Rush and Northwestern have though.

 

[HAM2]

I called Columbia yesterday and they said they would be finishing reviewing appl today (apparently today was their deadline) and send out invites/rejections soon.

 

[Shygirl]

Hey -

has anyone heard from Columbia or Mount Sinai in New York?

What about U. Chicago, Rush, U. Illinois Chicago, and Northwestern?

Thanks!

Northwestern-yes
Rush-Called today and they won't send things out until March (that's what their secretary has said to me)
UIC-nothing till March
U of C-nothing sent out yet
Cook-they only have one spot for this year!

Also, I don't know if anyone else had this experience, but I called Mimonides Program in NY to follow up and the person on the phone was the rudest person I have had to talk to. She told me they only have 3 spots and 20 interviews and hung up before I even said thanks. I mean, we are not kids, we are waiting for these invites/rejections with great anticipation. Why not send something saying which one of those u got? Don't we deserve that respect?

Well, just had to vent, good luck

PS. If anyone has already had an interview, maybe we can exchange what kind of questions we could be asked at these. My program, for example, does mock interviews. Anybody else's?

 

[gutonc]

Northwestern-yes
Also, I don't know if anyone else had this experience, but I called Mimonides Program in NY to follow up and the person on the phone was the rudest person I have had to talk to. She told me they only have 3 spots and 20 interviews and hung up before I even said thanks. I mean, we are not kids, we are waiting for these invites/rejections with great anticipation. Why not send something saying which one of those u got? Don't we deserve that respect?

That sounds about par for the course at Maimo. I avoided that place like the plague as a med student. Of course, the same could easily be said for most of the programs in the city so I don't suppose I should single them out for being rude and unhelpful at pretty much every level.

Think of that phone call as a preview of your 3 years as a fellow. They will likely blow smoke up your butt about their "Comprehensive-ish Cancer Center" but last I heard it wasn't even off the ground (that was >6 mos ago though so things may have changed). And if you don't speak >3 languages (Russian, Fujian-Chinese and Spanish will be most useful) you'll probably only understand about 20% of your patients (for better or worse).

 

[ghettomd]

So far.. people in my program collectively have gotten invites from:

Cornell, NYU, MSK, Mt Sinai, Fox Chase, Yale, Einstein, Maryland, UMDNJ, UMDNJ-Camden, Stony Brook..

Remember.. most community program take their own, maimo notoriously take their own... their grads are mostly us-fmg's with no research work and worked very hard for three yrs for their perspective departments.. i know for a fact last yr all their cardio spots went in house... their medicine dept does a great job making sure that happens...

 

[Shygirl]

So far.. people in my program collectively have gotten invites from:

Cornell, NYU, MSK, Mt Sinai, Fox Chase, Yale, Einstein, Maryland, UMDNJ, UMDNJ-Camden, Stony Brook..

Remember.. most community program take their own, maimo notoriously take their own... their grads are mostly us-fmg's with no research work and worked very hard for three yrs for their perspective departments.. i know for a fact last yr all their cardio spots went in house... their medicine dept does a great job making sure that happens...

I guess it sucks for someone like me who is NOT an FMG, in a good IM program, research present and multilingual

 

[Shygirl]

That sounds about par for the course at Maimo. I avoided that place like the plague as a med student. Of course, the same could easily be said for most of the programs in the city so I don't suppose I should single them out for being rude and unhelpful at pretty much every level.

Think of that phone call as a preview of your 3 years as a fellow. They will likely blow smoke up your butt about their "Comprehensive-ish Cancer Center" but last I heard it wasn't even off the ground (that was >6 mos ago though so things may have changed). And if you don't speak >3 languages (Russian, Fujian-Chinese and Spanish will be most useful) you'll probably only understand about 20% of your patients (for better or worse).

Absolutely true.

But my preference is to be on the East coast, and u know what they say-beggars can't be choosers

 

[caldawg]

Does anyone have any info on this program. Just got an email from them but I dont know too much about the program.

And Shygirl, you're right, the person from Maimonides was very rude on the phone.

 

[ghettomd]

I guess there are some people in my boat... Good med school, good residency great letter from big names from heme/onc and med, decent scores.. couple of case report/abstract...only 3 academic places and 2 community places thus far... since heme/onc is getting more competitive, the best strategy for the avg us grad is to take care of business in-house, than consider the other programs...

 

[Jack Tu]

I guess there are some people in my boat... Good med school, good residency great letter from big names from heme/onc and med, decent scores.. couple of case report/abstract...only 3 academic places and 2 community places thus far... since heme/onc is getting more competitive, the best strategy for the avg us grad is to take care of business in-house, than consider the other programs...

I feel your pain. I am an IMG with almost similar credentials. I am begining to think case reports, research abstracts and even original basic science research are not enough. There are so many qualified candidates out there. You are absolutely right........If you cant be KING in your own house then where else can you reign?

As long as your inhouse fellowship is not crappy, then I think that is everyones best shot.

Frankly I do not know what to say at htese handful of interviews that I have to make me more attractive to them than an in-house candidate.

Lets face it if a fellowship has 3 to 4 spots then at least 2 if not 3 go to inhouse candidates. The rest of us are just battling it out for the meagre 1 or 2 spots!!

Good luck to all.

JK2

 

[clueless1]

Columbia sent out some invites today...

Apparently, Fred Hutchinson is paring their 300+ apps down to 30-35??? Probably will hear early next week. Somehow, I'm not liking the odds of my making that cut...

 

[NEMC]

Yale rejection today from Email.

Columbia sent out some invites today...

Apparently, Fred Hutchinson is paring their 300+ apps down to 30-35??? Probably will hear early next week. Somehow, I'm not liking the odds of my making that cut...

 

[MidwestMD]

Got my first rejection from Columbia today 😳 At least I finally heard from them...

 

[Shygirl]

I feel your pain. I am an IMG with almost similar credentials. I am begining to think case reports, research abstracts and even original basic science research are not enough. There are so many qualified candidates out there. You are absolutely right........If you cant be KING in your own house then where else can you reign?

As long as your inhouse fellowship is not crappy, then I think that is everyones best shot.

Frankly I do not know what to say at htese handful of interviews that I have to make me more attractive to them than an in-house candidate.

Lets face it if a fellowship has 3 to 4 spots then at least 2 if not 3 go to inhouse candidates. The rest of us are just battling it out for the meagre 1 or 2 spots!!

Good luck to all.

JK2

Just sucks.

Sorry, people, just in the dump
Rejection from Columbia today 🙁

It's interesting, just 6-7 years ago, talking to my fellow mates, saying I want to do Hem/Onc was eliciting response of Ewwwwwwwww. Now, this is like one of the more compatitive matches this year. Jeezzz

 

[Shygirl]

Has anyone heard from Drexel in Philly? How about Thomas Jefferson?