Overview

The original program accreditation date is October 17, 1993 and about 50 individuals have graduated from the program since its opening.

The program provides three years of training and includes both clinical and basic research. The first year is purely clinical and the last two years are mostly dedicated to research. The trainee acquires skills which provide him/her with the expertise required to be an independent Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist as well as being capable of having an academic career in the field. The research activity is carried on either in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology or in any of the laboratories on campus involved in cancer research. Both clinical and research activities take place on the MUSC campus.

The overall goal of the program is to train academic specialists in Pediatric Hematology Oncology. The proposed program will provide 3 years of clinical and research training. The trainee will acquire the skills and expertise required to be an independent Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist with an academic career. Training objectives include the following: equip the trainee with the knowledge and skills to provide state of the art care to complex hematology/oncology patients acquire expertise in blood and marrow transplantation and provide the experience necessary in clinical and basic research for a research career.

The first year is clinical and the last two years are primarily dedicated to research. The research activity is conducted either in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology or in any of the laboratories on campus involved in cancer research. Both clinical and research opportunities are available on the MUSC campus. Fellows also have the opportunity to pursue a Masters in Clinical Research Program to meet the Scholarly activity Requirement.

Goals are primarily aimed at gaining experience in the diagnosis of hematologic and oncologic disorders and daily management and comprehensive care of children with known hematologic or oncologic disorders. In general the expectations of a first year fellow involve demonstration of medical knowledge, comprehension of pathophysiology, development of differential diagnoses, formulation of management plans, dissemination of plans by presentations at tumor boards and other clinical conferences, and management of hematology and oncology patients in inpatient and outpatient settings.

In addition to the goals for the 1st year fellows, 2nd and 3rd years are expected to develop a research project, get appropriate IRB approval and animal research approval as necessary, apply for grant funding as necessary, carry out necessary experiments or clinical studies, and prepare the results for presentation and publication. Each trainee has a mentor in the laboratory to instruct him/her with the research projects. The mentors are established researchers in their field and the trainee can choose among all different programs available on campus. The Program Director advises the trainees throughout the selection of their mentors and projects. Special attention is placed in insuring the selected mentor has the time and is committed to the trainee's development. Alternatively, instead of laboratory research, the trainee may enroll in the Master of Science in Clinical Research Program. The objective of the research training is to provide the trainee with the research capability to carry on as an independent investigator in the future. 2nd and 3rd year fellows are expected to develop increased independence in the formulation of management plans for patients. The only clinical duties during the second and third years are a one day/week continuation clinic and two months each year on in­patient service.

The Program is ACGME accredited.

Mission Statement:

The fellowship is intended for physicians to acquire particular expertise and skills in clinical practice, teaching, investigative research and administrative functions related to the field of pediatric hematology/oncology medicine. The clinical information and skills acquired during residency training will be sharpened and focused as the fellow gains’ new knowledge and experience pertinent to the management of pediatric hematology/oncology and sickle cell patients. The fellow will participate in teaching of both medical and lay personnel on topics, practices and procedures related to pediatric hematology/oncology medicine in a variety of formats. An understanding of clinical research will be fostered through course study in research design and the development and execution of a research project. In addition, exposure to the administrative aspects of managing a pediatric hematology/oncology team will be afforded the fellow during the years of training. Unique to our program is the ability to utilize all available resources to tailor the program to meet the curricular needs of each fellow to achieve his/her career goals within the specialty, including quality improvement, teaching, research, global health, participation and execution of both national and international clinical trials, transplantation and gene therapy, medical ethics, administration and palliative and end of life care.