GrandRapidsMedicalEducation

Curriculum

First Year Fellowship Overview

The first year of fellowship consists of clinical rotations on the inpatient and outpatient Hematology/Oncology Service, the Bone Marrow Transplant Service, and a clinical hematopathology laboratory experience. Other electives may include but are not limited to: Radiation Oncology, Anatomic Pathology, Blood Banking, Pediatric Radiology, and Bone Marrow Processing Lab. Six weeks of research time are built in to the first year rotations to give fellows time to explore research opportunities and prepare a research proposal by the completion of the first year of fellowship training.

To complement the training received on clinical rotations, fellows are also encouraged to regularly attend scheduled conferences, journal conferences, and lectures given by faculty and invited speakers. A schedule of conferences is available here.

During the first year, the fellow will acquire a group of patients for whom he/she has responsibility as the primary hematologist/oncologist. The fellow maintains a continuity clinic two half days of clinic per week, with an emphasis on continuing care of their primary patients and general experience in pediatric hematology and oncology.

Toward the end of the first year, the fellow will choose either a clinical- or laboratory-based research experience. Those choosing to pursue clinical research will be encouraged to obtain formal training in epidemiology, biostatistics, and the conduct of clinical research. During the first months of fellowship the fellow will select a faculty member at the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital who will serve as their clinical mentor for their fellowship training. Fellows choosing laboratory research will select an investigator at the Van Andel Institute as primary research mentor. All fellows will work with a Scholarship Oversight Committee to monitor their research progress.

Second and Third Year Fellowship Overview

During the second and third years of fellowship, continuity clinic for the fellow occurs one half day per week. One half day per month is also spent in one of four comprehensive specialty clinics: Neuro-Oncology, Late Effects, Sickle Cell or Coagulation.

The vast majority of time in the second and third years of fellowship is spent performing scholarly activity, in the form of basic science/translational research or clinical research. fellows are expected to participate in the analysis and interpretation of their data and are encouraged to submit their work for regional and national presentation as well as publication in the scientific literature.

Research

Exposure to and participation in research begins early on in the fellowship program.  While participating in direct patient care, fellows will learn to evaluate the eligibility of patients for clinical trials, lead consent discussions, and follow treatment guidelines. 

In addition, fellows will have six weeks during the first year exclusively devoted to exploration of several basic science, translational and clinical research opportunities.  This time is set aside to allow the fellow to begin thinking about their particular research interests, identify research mentors, and formulate a research proposal.  Those choosing to pursue clinical research will be encouraged to obtain formal training in epidemiology, biostatistics, and the conduct of clinical research.  Fellows choosing laboratory research will select an investigator at the Van Andel Institute as primary research mentor. 

For fellows interested in pursuing a laboratory research career, an exciting program combining the pediatric hematology and oncology fellowship with a Ph.D. degree is also available.   This joint endeavor with the Van Andel Institute provides both in-depth clinical training with patient care and doctoral training in Cell and Molecular Genetics to prepare the next generation of physician-scientists.  More information about the combined fellowship-Ph.D. program is available here.