Length of training for ABIM fast-track heme-onc?

[Med85]

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Hi, current IM applicant here. I'm a little confused about the total length of training for heme-onc fast track. I've heard different things from different people and would appreciate if someone could clarify. My understanding is that you do 2 years internal medicine + 4 years fellowship (1 year clinical + 3 years research). However, if you double board in heme/onc, do you add a 5th year to the fellowship or is that extra clinical time dispersed throughout the 3 years of protected research time so that you can still finish the fellowship in 4 years? My PD says that fast tracking for heme-onc will take 7 years and is one of the reasons he is against it, but during interviews at some fast track programs, it seemed like everyone was doing heme-onc in 6 years. Confused...

Thank you!

 

[gutonc]

Hi, current IM applicant here. I'm a little confused about the total length of training for heme-onc fast track. I've heard different things from different people and would appreciate if someone could clarify. My understanding is that you do 2 years internal medicine + 4 years fellowship (1 year clinical + 3 years research). However, if you double board in heme/onc, do you add a 5th year to the fellowship or is that extra clinical time dispersed throughout the 3 years of protected research time so that you can still finish the fellowship in 4 years? My PD says that fast tracking for heme-onc will take 7 years and is one of the reasons he is against it, but during interviews at some fast track programs, it seemed like everyone was doing heme-onc in 6 years. Confused...

Thank you!

You need to do an additional 6 mos of clinical training to double board in Heme and Onc. So yes, technically, it will take 6.5y to do both (which is why most of us just single-board).

Whether or not this will make a difference in your future is a little harder to tell. I'm single boarded in Onc and currently have a PP gig where ~30% of my patients are straight benign heme. 3 of my 10 partners (including our director) are also single-boarded. Nobody seems to care.

 

[C5toC9]

Can you be single-boarded in Onc and still do heme?

 

[Raryn]

Can you be single-boarded in Onc and still do heme?

Find someone to give you a job/hospital privileges/malpractice insurance and you can have just completed an intern year/got your general license and do neurosurgery.

(i.e. yes. That's what GutOnc just described, he feels comfortable enough with Heme that he does it as part of his practice and had no difficulty finding a job that let him/required it of him)

 

[pandoraone]

Sorry for the stupid question, but for onc is it 3 years internal med and 2 years for oncology?

 

[gutonc]

Sorry for the stupid question, but for onc is it 3 years internal med and 2 years for oncology?

Standard track? Yes. Although the majority of programs (but not all) will want you to double board which makes it 3+3.

 

[pandoraone]

Standard track? Yes. Although the majority of programs (but not all) will want you to double board which makes it 3+3.

Thank you!