Thoughts on Vanderbilt

[131]

Be careful of what is going on at Vanderbilt. The old chair, Dr Hallahan, has gone to WashU and the department is not as focused on research and is now much more clinical.

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[Radonc11]

deleted

 

[131]

Delete

 

[radioh3ad]

internet. serious business.

 

[Abnormal Saline]

I'm not so sure about that characterization of what's going on at Vanderbilt. Last year with Malcolm as chair, Vandy interviewed ~25 people, ~15 of whom had PhDs. For those of you who have more accurate info, please correct these numbers. Regardless, they are still heavily research-based.

If that program is becoming more clinically focused, it's only for the purpose of becoming a more well-rounded program. Let's not forget that Radiation Oncologists are still clinicians.

 

[Gfunk6]

Since > 75% residents actually go into private practice anyway, I don't see it as a negative even if Vanderbilt now has a strong clinical focus.

 

[233101]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to weigh in on this thread because I think that 131's comment is simply not true. Our current chair, Dr. Arnold Malcolm, trained at the Harvard Joint Center program and is firmly committed to outstanding clinical care, basic science research, and clinical research. We currently have 7 residents, all of whom have PhDs except myself (I am enrolled in the MSCI program at Vanderbilt Medical School which is paid for through a K12 award). Last year we accepted an outstanding medical student who rotated with us and has an MD degree. We also have outstanding faculty mentors who have successful track-records in obtaining NIH funding.

I would encourage anyone who is interested in obtaining a well-balanced Radiation Oncology residency education to apply to our program. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me!

Best,

VandyRadOnc12
PGY-4 Resident in Radiation Oncology

 

[DukeNukem]

If the program has done a 180 from academics, their invite wouldn't indicate it. It's the most academic/research-oriented invitation I've gotten all season.

Congratulations! You are being considered for a PGY2 position in Graduate Medical Education in Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center:



http://www.vicc.org/radonc/



We will provide an overview of the program, tour and lunch to all candidates on Monday, January 17th, 2011 beginning at 8:00AM Central. We will meet in the Department of Radiation Oncology which is located in the basement of the Preston Research Building, 2220 Pierce Avenue. There will also be a dinner on the evening prior, Sunday, January 16th, 2011, at 7:00pm with our current residents.



Vanderbilt is a leader in training academic radiation oncologists. We emphasize development of careers of physicians who demonstrate the ability to conduct research, both basic as well as clinical. Our goal is to mentor these individuals in development of novel hypotheses and grant writing. To this end, we have established several core labs, such as MALDI mass spec, proteomics, microarray, laser capture, imaging, etc. Please see our website at: http://www.vicc.org/.



You are a good candidate for the graduate medical education program in radiation oncology at Vanderbilt. It is designed to encourage training for the next generation of leaders in radiation oncology. Internal funding, mentoring and time are provided to each of the residents in the program. In this regard, we provide the opportunity for obtaining funding for each of our resident physician scientists into the Holman pathway. The Holman pathway provides between 18 to 21 months of protected time for bench research during residency. We have the largest number of residents who have received funding from national organizations including ASTRO, RSNA or the DOD.



We also give our residents the opportunity to obtain K12 awards for the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation. Two of our residents have received K12 awards that allowed them to complete their MSCI during their research time. This allows individuals to develop the skills and knowledge required for translational research and clinical investigation. Vanderbilt has been a leader in training clinical investigators for many years.



If you would like to interview, you must notify me by Monday, December 20th, 2011 so that I can schedule your interview. Please also let me know if you will be attending the dinner on Sunday evening as well.



We look forward to seeing you at our orientation.

 

[johno83]

If the program has done a 180 from academics, their invite wouldn't indicate it. It's the most academic/research-oriented invitation I've gotten all season.

I think the change is from a pure Holman program. They used to be an MD/PhD only kind of program with the emphasis being weighted almost exclusively towards bench research. Now it is much more open to clinical research as well.

Every radonc program at every major research institution is very academic and wants to produce academicians (at least this was my experience on the interview trail).