Hem/Onc fellowship application thread 2010-2011!

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Heard it is a small clinically oriented program. Middle of the road. Wake, UVa, UNC, Emory, and Vandy are much better in the area.
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Threecoins you seem to really be interested in an academic career thus you keep asking "how academic" a program is. Would you mind listing all of your interview offers than gutonc and/or other oncologists can go down your list and tell you the best academic programs on your list. Just a suggestion.
 
Hi Guys,
I got IV from Case western. Any input about this program.
Thank you
 
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iv from north shore LIJ, any input about ğrogram appreciated thanks
 
It seems either people are getting too many interviews because they overapplied or not enough interviews because of geographic restriction. Thats why people are asking about programs to see if it is worth spending time, money, energy, and travel fatigue. Btw, has anyone ever heard of a scramble if you dont match like residency positions? With only one interview I am starting to get worried. Thanks everyone.
 
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UCLA harbor invite yesterday.

BTW: any thoughts on the strength of Mayo Scottsdale program?
 
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So far, I got 6 in Hemonc. My colleagues got more than 10 in Nephrology.

What number is usually considerred good enough to get a position finally?
 
Still nothing from Hopkins. Anyone heard anything? Anyone? Bueler?
 
Yes, It is the clinical track with Harbor+Kaiser.
UCLA Olive View today as well.
 
Heal01 said:
Yes, It is the clinical track with Harbor+Kaiser.
UCLA Olive View today as well.
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I guess that makes three people on this forum today as I received an invite today as well. :thumbup:
 
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Some programs send itinerary that includes the faculty who will be interviewing us and some don't. Is OK to ask which faculty will be interviewing us, days prior to interview? Is OK to ask to meet with specific faculty in a program to meet with?
 
pillu said:
Some programs send itinerary that includes the faculty who will be interviewing us and some don't. Is OK to ask which faculty will be interviewing us, days prior to interview? Is OK to ask to meet with specific faculty in a program to meet with?
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They'll probably cancel your interview if you ask that question.







OK...seriously, of course it's OK. They may not know the answer (or it may change on the day of the interview) but it doesn't hurt to ask ahead of time.

From my own experience though, don't spend too much time reading the last few papers people who will interview you have published. Just get the gist of what they do and are interested in and you'll be fine. The more you read, the more likely you are to not interview with somebody.
 
Called CCF yesterday, they are still reviewing and sending out interviews...I will keep my fingers crossed! I think Hopkins are notorious for sending out interviews very late..

Did anyone hear from OHSU?
 
Rejection from Upenn, after days of silence.
 
threecoins said:
Called CCF yesterday, they are still reviewing and sending out interviews...I will keep my fingers crossed! I think Hopkins are notorious for sending out interviews very late..

Did anyone hear from OHSU?
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Think they sent out iv/rejections last week.

Anyone hear from univ of cincinnati, tulane, wisconsin?
 
How much they can make? Is it gennerally true that faculties make a lot less than regular practicing physicians.
 
Interviews - north shore lij, Montefiore north division. 6 Ivs so far.
 
Congrats DantheMan..What time did they send out the email?
 
Docpin, it is true that you make about half as much what a private Oncologist make as you start out in Academia...one has to be really motivated to go into academia. It is not an easy life.
 
->threecoins

Got it about an hour ago.
 
Out of curiousity how do you guys find time to interview during residency. Also I wonder how many applicants are like 3 coins guaranteed to match but going on more than ten interviews to find the "perfect" program. Nice luxury to have but is $7000+ worth of expenses worth it for a strong applicant?
 
greek123 said:
Think they sent out iv/rejections last week.

Anyone hear from univ of cincinnati, tulane, wisconsin?
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Don't know about tulane n Cincinnati but Wisconsin is done with sending interviews
 
Seems like interviews have started to slow down as most of the places have already sent out invitations...

Has anyone been to Baylor, Houston? Seems it is very busy, lots of hands-on experience, rotating 4 hospitals... but are they strong in research, good for launching academic career? I think you can only do some electives at MD Anderson, and may befriend many people being in Texa Medical Center... but how is the program itself?
 
anyone heard from Scripps Clinic (at San Diego)?
 
gutonc said:
They'll probably cancel your interview if you ask that question.







OK...seriously, of course it's OK. They may not know the answer (or it may change on the day of the interview) but it doesn't hurt to ask ahead of time.

From my own experience though, don't spend too much time reading the last few papers people who will interview you have published. Just get the gist of what they do and are interested in and you'll be fine. The more you read, the more likely you are to not interview with somebody.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
Cependant said:
Seems like interviews have started to slow down as most of the places have already sent out invitations...

Has anyone been to Baylor, Houston? Seems it is very busy, lots of hands-on experience, rotating 4 hospitals... but are they strong in research, good for launching academic career? I think you can only do some electives at MD Anderson, and may befriend many people being in Texa Medical Center... but how is the program itself?
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Did you get to see any of their conferences or meet fellows other than the one who takes you for lunch? I didn't.
 
Does anyone know anything about the wash u heme/onc program?
 
Has anyone heard from Indiana, Alabama, Little Rock, or UT Memphis?
 
I saw a previous post on the signficance of Comprehensive NCI cancer center designation . How about NCCN particpation? What aspect does NCCN participation affect for cancer centers and how does filter down to the fellowship programs?
 
It seems as though the interview responses have slowed to a trickle and I have not received a response from over 60% of programs. I know the majority of those will never respond, but at what date should the hope for another interview be ended?
 
I have heard for people getting interviews until late April even May..some big programs I.e Hopkins are still sending out interviews.
 
threecoins said:
I saw a previous post on the signficance of Comprehensive NCI cancer center designation . How about NCCN particpation? What aspect does NCCN participation affect for cancer centers and how does filter down to the fellowship programs?
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I actually brought up this point with the director of our Cancer Institute the other day. You may have heard of him...he's the guy who discovered Gleevec.

Anyhoo, I asked about both NCI CCC and NCCN designations and their importance. He pointed out that the primary difference between an NCI CC and CCC (we are a CC) is an education/community outreach component, NOT research or patient care. So unless you're also doing an MPH or MSW during your fellowship, the difference between these two is unlikely to affect you in any meaningful way (see this link for details).

As for NCCN status, it too doesn't really do much other than allow faculty at the institution to sit on the various disease-specific NCCN advisory boards that develop the guidelines. Interestingly, fellows from any institution are also invited to participate in the annual NCCN meetings and we (a non-NCCN institution for the time being) have had one fellow attend and contribute to guidelines each of the last 3 years.

So don't get too hung up on the Cancer Center vs. Comprehensive Cancer Center or NCCN thing.
 
gutonc said:
I actually brought up this point with the director of our Cancer Institute the other day. You may have heard of him...he's the guy who discovered Gleevec.

Anyhoo, I asked about both NCI CCC and NCCN designations and their importance. He pointed out that the primary difference between an NCI CC and CCC (we are a CC) is an education/community outreach component, NOT research or patient care. So unless you're also doing an MPH or MSW during your fellowship, the difference between these two is unlikely to affect you in any meaningful way (see this link for details).

As for NCCN status, it too doesn't really do much other than allow faculty at the institution to sit on the various disease-specific NCCN advisory boards that develop the guidelines. Interestingly, fellows from any institution are also invited to participate in the annual NCCN meetings and we (a non-NCCN institution for the time being) have had one fellow attend and contribute to guidelines each of the last 3 years.

So don't get too hung up on the Cancer Center vs. Comprehensive Cancer Center or NCCN thing.
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Druker is great, heard him speak once, a real class act, youre lucky to have him at OHSU (its hard to keep these guys away from MSKCC, MDACC, DFCI, or for your region, the Hutch)

Most of the cancer institute, comprehensive cancer institute distinction only matters for funding and reputation. Most of the big name programs are comprehensive, but even if that designation didnt exist they would still be considered big names. Its more a proxy for having a complete program moreso than anything else.

I do disagree slightly on the NCCN affiliation, but moreso in the general context of a program being a part of ECOG or SWOG or CALGB. I think if you want to have a career in academics, it is important to be at an institution that is a part of these cooperative groups. More and more, the ability for a single institution, even an MSKCC and MDACC, to run a phase 2 or 3 trial by itself is diminished. So being a part of one of these groups is important if you want to do research. Also, you get to work with a lot of other important researchers at other institutions through the group, which can only help in terms of finding a career.

If you want to do private practice though, none of the above matters. In fact, you probably want to avoid research centers and spent that extra 1.5 years in clinics, otherwise you may end up like several of the MSKCC or MDACC fellows I know who went through their whole fellowship without having written for FOLFOX or R-CHOP. Then again, their research makes up for that (because they are spending their time somewhere productive, for sure).

A better question to ask is: community/county program (clinical) vs. university academic (hybrid) vs. dedicated standalone cancer center (clinical research) based on your goals
 
AuroraK said:
Druker is great, heard him speak once, a real class act, youre lucky to have him at OHSU (its hard to keep these guys away from MSKCC, MDACC, DFCI, or for your region, the Hutch)
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He actually gave us (the fellows) a really great explanation of how/why he ended up at OHSU. He was at the Farber, had a faculty gig, was one of the "golden boys" (my words, not his) who could have carried on there comfortably for an entire career. But he knew he'd never be able to direct anything there...he was golden, not platinum...and would be at the mercy of other senior faculty members until they left (unlikely) or died. So he went somewhere that he felt he could make a real difference in a variety of ways.

I do disagree slightly on the NCCN affiliation, but moreso in the general context of a program being a part of ECOG or SWOG or CALGB. I think if you want to have a career in academics, it is important to be at an institution that is a part of these cooperative groups. More and more, the ability for a single institution, even an MSKCC and MDACC, to run a phase 2 or 3 trial by itself is diminished. So being a part of one of these groups is important if you want to do research. Also, you get to work with a lot of other important researchers at other institutions through the group, which can only help in terms of finding a career.
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2 different issues. NCCN is one thing. Being part of a cooperative group (we participate in SWOG, CALGB, ACOSOG, RTOG, CTN and soon ECOG) is another and they have nothing to do with each other. I agree that if you want a serious academic career (particularly one with clinical research) you need to be in a place that is part of a cooperative group. But NCCN membership has nothing to do with that.

On a related note, I have a Phase II trial about to go live that is not part of a cooperative group (although it is an industry funded, investigator initiated trial) and several of our faculty (like a dozen or so) have similar trials ongoing. It's rare for the cooperative groups to sponsor anything other than Phase III trials, most Phase I/II trials are a combination of institutionally and industry sponsored.
 
Thanks Gutonc, this is very helpful . Speaking of OHSU, I recieved an interview invitation there too! I have been to the campus before and I know it is beautiful, I read your posts a year or two ago on the program and I would appreicate it if you can comment on your assessment of research training there especially basic and translational in preparation for an academic career?
 
So looks like things reaalllyyy slowed down these past two weeks. Guess most of the invites are out. I'll start to post my interview experiences and thoughts about programs within the next couple weeks and I hope others will do the same since those are the most helpful posts to review from years past. Best of luck everyone.
 
gutonc said:
He actually gave us (the fellows) a really great explanation of how/why he ended up at OHSU. He was at the Farber, had a faculty gig, was one of the "golden boys" (my words, not his) who could have carried on there comfortably for an entire career. But he knew he'd never be able to direct anything there...he was golden, not platinum...and would be at the mercy of other senior faculty members until they left (unlikely) or died. So he went somewhere that he felt he could make a real difference in a variety of ways.



2 different issues. NCCN is one thing. Being part of a cooperative group (we participate in SWOG, CALGB, ACOSOG, RTOG, CTN and soon ECOG) is another and they have nothing to do with each other. I agree that if you want a serious academic career (particularly one with clinical research) you need to be in a place that is part of a cooperative group. But NCCN membership has nothing to do with that.

On a related note, I have a Phase II trial about to go live that is not part of a cooperative group (although it is an industry funded, investigator initiated trial) and several of our faculty (like a dozen or so) have similar trials ongoing. It's rare for the cooperative groups to sponsor anything other than Phase III trials, most Phase I/II trials are a combination of institutionally and industry sponsored.
Click to expand...

NCCN isnt a cooperative group, but from the standpoint of inter-institutional relationships, if you are going for an academic career it is good to go to a place where you can be a part of that. NCCN is more about guidelines than prospective research, but the people involved are still the people you want to know.

Depends on your phase 2 question, but I would agree that you can do most phase 1/2 at one institution. Phase 3 can be more difficult. But a lot of phase 2 trials, esp. pharma sponsored ones, go through cooperative groups.
 
Any thoughts on the Virginia programs regarding the strength of clinical training and research opportunities? I have interviews from both University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University. I have several interviews and trying to decide if I could cancel some of them due time and expense constraints.
Any comments appreciated.
 
any idea hows baylor? and hows mayo, roch? anyone interviwed these 2 places yet?
 
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