SCHOOL OF MEDICINE • DEPARTMENT OF MEDICINE

Training Program in Hematology and Oncology in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

The Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Training Program is designed to provide clinical and research training in the fields of hematology and medical oncology to highly qualified graduates of internal medicine training programs. Dr. Joseph A. Bokar is the fellowship training Director.

Program Description
Two and 3-year training programs in hematology and/or medical oncology are available, leading to eligibility to sit for the Hematology and/or Medical Oncology ABIM board examinations. Emphasis in the first year is on clinical training in both medical oncology and hematology. In the second and third years, research career development is emphasized. A single board certification requires 12 months of clinical activity in a 24 month period; dual board certification requires 18 months clinical activity in 36 months. Throughout the 2-3 year program, a continuous outpatient continuity clinic is maintained one ½ day a week. Additional clinics can be added based upon the trainee’s clinical and subspecialty research interest in years two and three.

The Fellowship Training Program is an integrated program between 3 hospitals: University Hospital Case Medical Center, The Louis Stokes Cleveland Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, and MetroHealth Medical Center. Clinical outpatient rotations occur at each institution. Inpatient rotations include hematology/oncology consultation, hematology and oncology service management, and stem cell and hematologic malignancy service.

Division Didactic Conferences
A number of didactic sessions are sponsored by the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the three contributing institutions:

Bone Marrow Transplant Conference at University Hospitals Case Medical Center reviews current cases on service and reviews complications, current protocols and difficult therapeutic decisions.

Cancer Center Grand Rounds consists of outside expert speakers on clinical care in different topics in hematology and oncology, faculty presenting on-going clinical or basic research, or advanced fellows giving a didactic talk on a clinical topic.

Hematology Conference focuses on non-malignant hematologic cases involving red cell disorders, hemostasis and thrombosis.

Hematology/Oncology Fellows’ Conference at University Hospitals Case Medical Center is a fellow-driven didactic session led twice monthly by the fellows who present 30-minute reviews of pertinent topics in hematology/oncology. One week a month is devoted to a Journal Club review of recent literature and one week a month to the review of interesting cases of leukemia and lymphoma.

Cancer Center Blood Club Conference at University Hospitals Case Medical Center is the premier weekly research conference. This seminar is given by invited nationally recognized experts in the field usually from an outside institution or CWRU faculty.

Morphology Conference at University Hospitals Case Medical Center is held biweekly to review blood smear and bone marrow aspirates for pathological correlation with disease and allows the fellows the opportunity to develop expertise in hematopathology.

Board Review is held biweekly, alternating with Morphology Conference. This conference is a fellow-driven educational series supported each week by a pertinent faculty member. Over the course of the year, each major content area in hematology and oncology is reviewed, using the ASH-SAP and ASCO-SEP as guides.

Mulitidisciplinary tumor boards are held weekly for each cancer to review recent cases and to design therapeutics at University Hospitals Case Medical Center. These tumor boards are in bone marrow transplantation, cutaneous malignancies, thoracic oncology, GI oncology, GU oncology, and breast cancer. At the Veterans Administration and Metro Health Center weekly tumor boards are held.

In addition to these scheduled series, a summer seminar series is held from July through September to provide fellows an overview of the breadth of content of hematologic and oncologic disease in terms of diagnosis and clinical management. Sessions on clinical trials design, biostatistics, geriatric oncology, health inequities, and psychosocial considerations also are held.

Additional training opportunities in the Division of Hematology and Oncology include two T32 Post-doctoral fellowship training grants for basic research in hematology (Dr. McCrae is the PI) and medical oncology (Dr. Distelhorst is the PI). Further, there is an Ireland Cancer Center K12 Training Grant for development of translation investigators in the advanced fellow stage or junior faculty positions [Drs. Gerson (PI) and Schmaier (Co-PI)]. Last, the CWRU has additional training programs that can lead to a certificate or Masters in Clinical Investigation in translational research.