med schools with reputable oncology/hematology training

[AegisZero]

Hi,
I was wondering, based on what you might have heard by word of mouth, what med schools seem to have the best training for an eventual (hopefully) residency in oncology/hematology. Thanks!

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[mpp]

I think that is a difficult question to answer. I would think the best way to prepare for a hematology/oncology residency would be to ensure that the school offers an elective clerkship in it. Which is best is difficult to say but I'm sure you couldn't go wrong with Harvard, Hopkins, Columbia, etc. And then even if the medical school you went to does not offer an elective in that field, you can probably do a visiting clerkship at a center that does. The best cancer centers in the world are most likely M.D. Anderson in Houston, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York. I am not sure if any medical schools are associated with those centers (I think Cornell is somehow related to Sloan but I'm not sure if medical students to clerkships there) nor whether or not you can do visiting clerkships at those centers since they are not directly related to any particular university. I do know you can do visiting clerkships at the Mayo Clinic which is also reknowned for it's hematology/oncology departments.

 

[AegisZero]

Originally posted by mpp
I think that is a difficult question to answer. I would think the best way to prepare for a hematology/oncology residency would be to ensure that the school offers an elective clerkship in it. Which is best is difficult to say but I'm sure you couldn't go wrong with Harvard, Hopkins, Columbia, etc. And then even if the medical school you went to does not offer an elective in that field, you can probably do a visiting clerkship at a center that does. The best cancer centers in the world are most likely M.D. Anderson in Houston, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York. I am not sure if any medical schools are associated with those centers (I think Cornell is somehow related to Sloan but I'm not sure if medical students to clerkships there) nor whether or not you can do visiting clerkships at those centers since they are not directly related to any particular university. I do know you can do visiting clerkships at the Mayo Clinic which is also reknowned for it's hematology/oncology departments.

Memorial Sloan Kettering is Cornell and MD Anderson is UT-Houston. If I look at the hospital rankings for cancer, would I get a good idea of the residency placement of its corresponding medical school? Are you more likely to get a residency in a school in the state you went to med school in, and are you even more likely to get a residency at the very school you went to med school at? Sorry for all the questions!

 

[mpp]

Again, I think it depends on the school. I'm not sure how the hospital rankings will give you any information about school residency placement. A good place to look is at match lists although that's not too easy either since Hematology/Oncology is not a residency but a fellowship completed after a residency in internal medicine. You are definitely more likely to be offered a fellowship at an institution that you complete your residency (provided you dazzle them during that time).

Some match lists are availible on-line (try this guy's website). And for the record, about 50 percent of Mayo Medical School graduates go on to Mayo Clinic residencies and many from the other half the class could do residency at Mayo if they wanted but they opt not to. I think it might be harder to find information on how many graduates of a particular medical school go on to do particular fellowships since by that time they are quite far removed from the medical school. Good luck in the search...

 

[mpp]

After a quick search on the Sloan-Kettering website, it seems they do offer visiting clerkships (link). Sounds likes thats a good start. Go to medical school where you feel comfortable (and where you get accepted as even for the top students the admissions process can be random) and then do elective clerkships in the fields and locations that you feel will help you in your graduate medical educational goals (which may or may not be at the same institution).

 

[mpp]

I thought of another idea that you could use. Look at the physician staff of what are considered good cancer centers. Then use the physician search function at the AMA website. This will tell you both the medical school, residency, and fellowship for these doctors (even if they are not AMA members).

I think you will find that even at the top cancer centers there will be physicians for all types of medical schools and residency programs, but it's worth a shot.

 

[Castro Viejo]

I'd argue that attending a school that has one of these major cancer centers affords you more chances to interact with these fancy attendings and professors. Sure you can go anywhere you want and then do an elective at MSK or MD Anderson as a fourth-year, but how about going to their respective medical schools and getting in on research as early as your first-year?

By the way, since no one has really mentioned it, Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is an affilite of Cornell, MD Anderson Cancer Center is an affiliate of UT-Houston, and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (another top-rated institution) is an affilate of SUNY Buffalo.

Good luck.

 

[AJM]

Also, since no one has mentioned these top cancer centers: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, which is affiliated with UW, is considered to be the top CA center in the West Coast. Stanford's cancer center is another top-rated center. And, I'm surprised this one hasn't been mentioned -- Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, affiliated with Harvard (and the Brigham IM residents rotate there).

IMO, it's more important to go to an internal medicine residency program that has a strong heme/onc program than it is to go to a med school that has one. As a med student, you can always do a visiting rotation elsewhere to get rec letters, etc. You can also spend a summer or even take a year or two off as a preclinical student to go to another school that's strong in your field of interest to do research there (several people in my residency program did this when they were students).

Besides, what might interest you now before starting med school might be the last thing you would want to do when you are a 4th year med student -- that was definitely true with me. So be sure to keep an open mind...

 

[AegisZero]

So it is said that oncology/hematology training is 3 years after med schools. Is this on top of X years for internal medicine residency?

Sorry, im just sorta confused on how all this works. So you guys are saying that I need to do internal medicine residency then oncology/hematology fellowship? Are both of these done at the same university, and how long does each take?

 

[AegisZero]

Wow I feel dumb. I didnt know that I needed 3 years of Internal Medicine Residency followed by 3 years of Oncology/Hematology fellowship.

I found this using FREIDA. What other good sites are there for this sort of info?

 

[mpp]

www.careermd.com might be helpful to you.

 

[AJM]

Originally posted by AegisZero
Wow I feel dumb. I didnt know that I needed 3 years of Internal Medicine Residency followed by 3 years of Oncology/Hematology fellowship.

I found this using FREIDA. What other good sites are there for this sort of info?

Don't feel dumb -- all of these different residencies and fellowships are difficult to keep straight. A heme/onc program is usually a 3-year fellowship program, which is done after doing 3 years of internal medicine residency. You can stay at the same hospital for both programs if they like you and want you to stay. But you do have to apply for the fellowship programs in much the same way as you apply for residency -- most people in IM apply for fellowships in the beginning of their 2nd year of residency, and will know where they will go for fellowship in the 2nd half of their 2nd year.

Now if you are really research-oriented, some residency programs may have a "fast-track" program. That usually entails doing only 2 years of IM residency, but then spending one extra year during your fellowship doing research. It's the same total amount of time, but if you're really anxious to concentrate in your chosen specialty sooner, it could be the right choice for you.

Have you checked out scutwork.com yet? There might be some good links on there.

 

[AegisZero]

Thanks a lot guys. Really appreciate all the good info yall are giving me!

 

[AegisZero]

One more question. If I want to do surgical oncology, im assuming thats a surgical specialty. But I am having trouble finding any information on this subspecialty. Anyone have statistics on the length of such a fellowship and the prereqs?

 

[mpp]

I think Surgical Oncology is a three-year fellowship following a General Surgery residency (typically 5 years). Check the Society of Surgical Oncologists website. They may have a listing of surgical oncology fellowships...or search google for 'surgical oncology fellowship'.