Heme/Onc Fellowship Application Thread Part 2 - 2007-2008 cycle

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For your reference: Heme/Onc Fellowship Application Thread - Part 1
2005-2007

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hey, does anyone know where on the web I can find the number of people who applied last year, what percentage matched, how many programs filled, etc? I heard hundreds of people went unmatched.

I thought this information was only available to those who go unmatched...but it must be floating around on the web somewhere.

thanks.
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Hi, was wondering if somebody can give some advice for constructing a personal statement for heme/onc fellowship. What are some good things to emphasize? Obviously why i want to do heme onc, but any other pointers?
 
My advice is to spend as little time as possible on a personal statement and just make it as generic as possible...I think that the personal statement is the area that people spend the most time on and stress out the most about, and in the end is the least important. I'm quite certain half the programs I interviewed at only read the thing as an afterthought, and even then just more out of curiosity/amusement than any real desire to read my thoughts on becoming an oncologist.

Keep it short, generic, non-controversial. No one's ever gotten an interview based solely off of their personal statement, but I'm sure somone has lost one over a really bad/controversial one. Your application will be evaluated for your residency program (program directors are name-****** just like the rest of us), letters of rec, and research, and everything after that is just background noise...

Just my take on the application process. I can neither prove/disprove any of the above, but I suspect most who have been through the process would agree.
 
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thanks clueless1 for the wonderful post.

Where is everybody else in the application process? How about we all introduce ourselves and start the 2007-2008 heme/onc discussions and help each other out, push each other to get going.

I'm currently doing a heme/onc clinic rotation and love it. i've already asked for one LOR the other day from my research mentor.

How many LOR's minimum/maximum from heme/onc attendings should one get? I was thinking 2-3 from h/o attendings, 1 from program director?
 
njmedresident said:
hey, does anyone know where on the web I can find the number of people who applied last year, what percentage matched, how many programs filled, etc? I heard hundreds of people went unmatched.

I thought this information was only available to those who go unmatched...but it must be floating around on the web somewhere.

thanks.
Click to expand...

Below is available on the NRMP website. There are additional (but smaller) groups for Hematology only clinical, and research tracts. I have never seen total number of applicants published anywhere, but I would expect that it is reasonably higher than the combined 443 or so spots offered last year in hematology and/or oncology.

That doesn't mean folks should worry. Who knows what will happen this year? Besides, applying for fellowship was way more fun than applying for residency.


Hematology and Oncology - Clinical

  1. Enrolled Programs____116
  2. Withdrawn Programs__1
  3. Certified Programs____115
  4. Programs Filled_______110
  5. Programs Unfilled______5
  6. Certified Positions_____393
  7. Positions Filled________387
  8. Positions Unfilled_______6
 
I am into the game of applying for fellowships and was wondering who all is battling and playing the game this season......

lets pitch in and discuss whats going on in hem-onc world on the other side of ocean (meaning PDs, PCs, chairmen etcetra)

keep them coming buddies....

Plan to apply in November and in the process of finishing CAF, PS and collecting LORs... whats up with ya'll?

sopernova
 
I am also trying to get my personal statement going.... don't know where to start. I don't have an "incredible lifechanging story", etc. I don't want to pretend like I do either. I just know that I want to do heme/onc, it's a very interesting and exciting field, and I appreciate the patients.

What else makes for a good heme/onc personal statement? I hate to sound cheezy or boring.

BTW, who is everybody getting letters from and how many?
 
hi crew!
okay, so i admit it- instead of working on my personal statement, I've been reading a bunch of the previous entries. count me in for the fun this year!

i'm at an IM program without a heme/onc fellowship, so i love the idea of sharing ideas/experiences with everyone.

for LORs i have requested 5 folks (wasn't sure who to cut, still not exactly sure who to cut)- IM PD, chief of medicine, 3 hematologists/oncologists reaserch preceptor, established doc, newish doc but knows me well).

the personal statement is my project right now....:(
 
How does one find out about if any programs suddenly become unfilled or someone drops out of their spot?
 
Apologies for my ignorance....

MS-I here interested in oncology. I've been a medic for 10 years and until I started school I thought I was locked into EM. I'm a little interested in medical oncology and know that it requires IM + 3 year hem/onc fellowship. I'm not really interested in primary care as an internist. My questions are, what is IM residency like (hours, stress, call, patients, etc...), where can I find more information on IM programs that would be best for hem/onc hopefuls, how competitive hem/onc fellowships are, and is anyone worried about not getting a fellowship slot and staying 'disatisfied' in IM?

Thanks!
 
Hey folks,

I talked to a fellowship director at my program, not Hem-Onc but other subspeciality. He told me that although a good personal statement is important and shows your writing skills and personality but nevertheless it is never a deciding factor. For example, candidate A has 2 publications, good residency program but a poorly written PS and candidate B has no publications, community program and an excellent very interesting PS. Candidate A stand a a better chance and will be given consideration over B. So that tells a little about how important PS is and how much time you should devote on it.:eek:

Cheers!!
Sopernova
 
thanks supernova! yep, my PM pretty much said the same thing. wow, but this thing is sooooooooo boring right now. my first grade book report had more excitement.

To how many programs have people been advised to apply (especially if it does not look like a lock on the home program)?
 
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Hey guys, does anybody know if we need to send our medical school's deans letter and transcript? ERAS doesn't have a section for it, but a friend called them and they said yes, but doesn't need to be official copy? Is this true?
 
Check w/ your current PD/PC (assuming you're still in residency) as they probably have copies of everything from your ERAS file and can just make copies of your MSPE and transcript and you can send them to ERAS for this round. It's what I did and it worked just fine, much faster than getting my dean's office (3000 miles away) to do it for me.
 
Thanks gutonc, sounds simple enough. Do you know if the MSPE is required or optional. Would you send it only if the program requires it? Do most require? It didn't seem like it when I researched some of the programs.

Also, i'm from chicago and am interested in going back to chicago for fellowship. Can anybody provide insight on the programs there? It seems to me U of C and northwestern are top tier, and then uic, loyola is pretty equal, and rush only takes 2/year (one in house and one out). Anybody else with insight as to quality of these programs? Does anybody know how many spots there are for loyola?
 
Hey everyone...

I am a new member over here. Planning to apply for hem/onc fellowship this yr. Hopefully we can all go through this rigorous process of applying and interviewing together and come out successful.

I havent done anything major yet regarding appl prep etc. Just working on my PS till now. So have you all finalized your program list yet or not. I am a bit confused. I havent started looking at the programs yet. Being an IMG and on a J1 visa I dont have any preference as such. So would be looking all over. Are there any particular programs good for IMG's or all are same as far as fellowships are concerned unlike during residency appl.

More questions will come as I go further. And please put in yr questions too so that we can all discuss and plan accordingly.

Thanks
 
tarcevarash said:
Thanks gutonc, sounds simple enough. Do you know if the MSPE is required or optional. Would you send it only if the program requires it? Do most require? It didn't seem like it when I researched some of the programs.
Click to expand...

Only 1 or 2 of the places I applied didn't require the MSPE so I just sent it to everyone. If your MSPE sucks I guess I'd only send it to places that required it but otherwise you don't have anything to lose.
 
Guys,

Do not take too much load about MSPE. Ask your residency program director to send a copy of your MSPE that you submitted to them to EFDO. Or if they can not then request a copy for yourself and send it to EFDO.
It is kinda easy.
The main thing which carries most weightage is your application and secondly the letters.
Work on that as much as you can.... Believe me it helps... I will see what happens to my appl. and letters in next few months. As the time approaches it kinda gets scary....

:scared:
Sopernova
 
Hi all
How important are publications to get into a heme/onc fellowship?
 
Hi all

Well for the US grads getting an MSPE wouldnt be a big issue. But for FMG's who had Deans letter 2 yrs back when they applied for the residency getting an MSPE now from their med school back home wudnt be feasible.

So does anyone have an idea whether FMG's also need to submit an MSPE or a Deans letter would work.

Thanks,
Zorroo
 
Read my post above Zorroo. Hope it helps and makes it easier.:laugh:
 
Hey thanx Supernova for letting me know about the previous reply on MSPE. You are right.....but for me getting an MSPE is impossible. The only thing I have is the Deans letter. And I have heard some programs dont accept applications without the MSPE. I dont know how much truth there is in this. Cuz uptill last yr all programs were ok with the Deans letter atleast for the IMG's.

Take care
Zorroo
 
So on the west coast, UW/Fred Hutchinson reigns supreme. But how to UCSF/Stanford/UCLA sit in the grand scheme of things?

Also, I hear places like MSK and MDACC make it difficult to double board heme/onc. What other places are like that and how exactly do they go about making it difficult to double board?
 
Zorroo said:
Hey thanx Supernova for letting me know about the previous reply on MSPE. You are right.....but for me getting an MSPE is impossible. The only thing I have is the Deans letter. And I have heard some programs dont accept applications without the MSPE. I dont know how much truth there is in this. Cuz uptill last yr all programs were ok with the Deans letter atleast for the IMG's.

Take care
Zorroo
Click to expand...
Zoroo- i'm pretty sure that the MSPE= dean's letter. (just fancier name). So, you should be fine since it sounds like you have a copy of that to send. :)
 
Rasengan said:
So on the west coast, UW/Fred Hutchinson reigns supreme. But how to UCSF/Stanford/UCLA sit in the grand scheme of things?

Also, I hear places like MSK and MDACC make it difficult to double board heme/onc. What other places are like that and how exactly do they go about making it difficult to double board?
Click to expand...
does stanford participate with ERAS?
 
Rasengan said:
So on the west coast, UW/Fred Hutchinson reigns supreme. But how to UCSF/Stanford/UCLA sit in the grand scheme of things?

Also, I hear places like MSK and MDACC make it difficult to double board heme/onc. What other places are like that and how exactly do they go about making it difficult to double board?
Click to expand...

So, I'm not sure I agree that UW/Fred Hutchinson "reigns supreme" on the west coast...If you want to be a transplanter, then yes, the Hutch is the place to go. But if you are interested in solid tumors or, say, biotech/nanotech, or other cutting-edge non-heme malignancy-related research, the Hutch is NOT the place to be (it is, for all practical purposes, a big BMT factory). I would say if you are interested in potentially going to work in biotech then UCSF is far and away best in the west for that type of research. UCLA is probably the most solid all-around program in SoCal; where it fits in compared to UW or UCSF is debatable, but they all have positives and negatives. Stanford I can't comment on because I didn't visit Palo Alto, but I'd say those are the top 4 programs on the west coast, in some arbitrary order.

I can't speak for MD Anderson, but MSKCC gave me no indication that it would be a problem whatsoever to double-board. Actually, the only 2 programs that seemed to indicate they didn't strongly encourage double-boarding were UCSF and UW/Hutch (who has only a limited number of slots specifically for heme/onc; the other spots are either Onc or Heme). I have heard Stanford also does not encourage it, but again I can't say from firsthand experience since I didn't interview there (but last year they did not offer any spots in combined Heme-Onc; only Onc or Heme separately). And I wouldn't say anyone "makes it hard" to double-board per se, but they either have only a limited number of spots for double-boarders (i.e. Fred Hutch) or else they just don't necessarily encourage it - but no one I ran into actually actively discouraged it.

My advice is to take hearsay and reputations, however well-founded or well-known, and disregard it. Visit the programs for yourself and find the one(s) that have the faculty/labs/resources or whatever it is that you're looking for. You'll be surprised at how your opinions on certain well-known programs change (for better or worse) as you visit more and more programs.
 
Good to see a bunch of folks talking in here.... makes me excited about the upcoming season.
regarding Stanford, it only shows as a Med-onc program on ERAS so thats why you probably dont see it in the "match" of Hem-Onc.

And the bottom line from the above discussion by clueless is" Its kinds hard to get into a combined board spot at any major center. The reason being that they wants their fellows to do lots of research and they want them to do 1-1.5 clinical and 1.5-2 years of lab research."
Now this is my opinion... I could be wrong....

how are applications coming along guys? how many programs are ya'll applying to? I am thinking about 40ish. I am hoping that would be enough. I have about 5-7 programs that rank lower than my own university as back-up.

throw in your suggestions fellas!!!
 
I have a question about applying to california programs if you're an FMG. It seems too fussy to apply as they have extra requirements. Am i right about this? Do you have to take another exam? And how hard is it to get this california letter? I am an FMG but a US citizen. Thanks!
 
i'm applying to 31 or 32 programs. i'm still trying to decide about Stanford. after i posted my question, i checked it out and saw the heme and onc fellowships separately. (however, thanks for your response Supernova!)

Do you guys think that the number of programs to which to apply varies whether you are an FMG/US citizen, FMG/not US citizen, or US med school grad? absolutely back for residency, but i wasn't sure about now.

as for me- personal statement is done! Finishing up data entry tonight. still not sure what to do about LORs. I have 1 too many. not a horrible thing, but still kind of a dilemma. i am undecided among the following: well established heme/onc guy (who will make calls on my behalf), new heme/onc guy (who probably knows me best), and Chief of Internal Medicine (good title plus he was my med school advisor and has been my Attending once). otherwise, i have my research (heme/onc) advisor and program director. Unfortunately, i waived my right to see any of the letters. ANY SUGGESTIONS?!?!?!

why is there the nov 15th "applicants can download applications" and the december 1st "programs can download applications" difference in dates? is it simply not to jam up the computers on the 1st?!?!
 
Hey Thanx 09 Onc for the response regarding the MSPE....actually I was waiting to hear this from someone else....:)...now its a relief.

About waiving right on LOR's I have heard thats the best thing to do and mostly people waive their right. As far as residency appl was concerned it wasnt that imp but for fellowship I heard that waiving yr right is the right way to go.

And secondly about which person to ask for...I would say ask every1 for now cuz i think u can upload a max of 10 lors and then you can designate LOR depending where you are applying. For instance if yr writer did his fellowship from Albert Einstein, def. send his LOR to that particular program.

I think there is a diff between a US grad and IMG in fellowships too. For an FMG and a non-citizen, he def has to apply to more programs in order to get a decent number of calls.

For me I have completed my PS and wud start working on my application. I just gave the requests for the LOR's two days back to the writers. I know I am a bit late but I hope the LOR's reach and get uploaded on time.

Thats it.


Take care,
Zorroo
 
I was wondering if anybody knew if it was wise to apply to both heme/onc and med onc for a program who offers them both i.e. md anderson. Will they look down upon an applicant that applies for both tracks or would it increase my likelihood of getting an interview to either?
 
good question, honestly i'm not sure. only thing i would warn- make sure that you either write a different PS or edit your PS wisely. it wouldn't look good if you're talking about "heme/onc" for an "onc" program. one of my friends did something similar a few years ago for residency apps. oops.
 
tarcevarash said:
I was wondering if anybody knew if it was wise to apply to both heme/onc and med onc for a program who offers them both i.e. md anderson. Will they look down upon an applicant that applies for both tracks or would it increase my likelihood of getting an interview to either?
Click to expand...


My advice would be to apply to both tracks (Heme/Onc and Onc). I think it's fine to say I have a preference to do Heme/Onc, but I would be happy to do Med Onc since that's primarily where my interests are anyway, or vice versa depending on what your feelings are. I doubt if anyone would look down on that...I think if anything it just shows your interest in being at their program. I applied to 2 different tracks at some programs, and they had no problems with it. Having said that, I didn't apply at MD Anderson, so I can't comment directly on whether or not they encourage/discourage it.
 
Hey all....

Hope the application process is going smooth for all of you.

One question just popped up recently....how important is a chief year as far as Hem/Onc fellowship is concerned? And wat role does it play in making your application stronger?

I have heard for Cardio and GI, a chief residency def raises your chances for getting into a fellowship. But any idea wat role does it play for attaining a hem/onc fellowship?

Thanks in advance
Zorroo
 
Hi
I am kinda new to this forum..I had a question about hemeonc fellowship too and thought this is the appropriate area to type my question,
I am a 2nd year int medicine resident,am interested in Hemonc ,have done an elective in hemonc..have no research in hemonc..1.do u think I need to take a yaer off and apply in my 3rd year of residency ,so that I can improve my resume..I have no publications to my credit and no resaerch ,or do I have a chance if I apply this year..I am an IMG
2....also in my year off (if I need to take a year off)i was wondering if anybody knows of a place where I can do a few months of paid/unpaid research...
3.as an IMG how many programs do I need to apply to..
If anybody knows of any links,to the above questions if already answered ,thats fine too.thanking you in advance.:hardy:
 
Sorry folks,
been out of touch for some time. Being busy at work, but nevertheless I am in full form to enter the big race.
It kinda seems exciting and fun to me.

Noone has anything to lose. I take it this way. If I dont get a spot of my choice or dont get it at all. Oh well!!! there is always second time and its not like I am gonna be jobless or pennyless.

So what kind of career ya'll looking forward to. Academics/private practice/university prof??
What pays off better and how much ya make and who is the happiest?

Keep 'em coming, keep 'em coming:laugh:
 
hello all:
i am new to the forum. applying for heme onc this year. looked at the previous years and looks like people have done pretty solid. happy to know about this forum. applied to the programs today after submitting the CAF. Was very nostalgic recollecting the residency process. Hope everyone does great this year. Looking forward to the next 8 months with excitement and hope. Goodluck everyone.
 
tulipyellow said:
Hi
I am kinda new to this forum..I had a question about hemeonc fellowship too and thought this is the appropriate area to type my question,
I am a 2nd year int medicine resident,am interested in Hemonc ,have done an elective in hemonc..have no research in hemonc..1.do u think I need to take a yaer off and apply in my 3rd year of residency ,so that I can improve my resume..I have no publications to my credit and no resaerch ,or do I have a chance if I apply this year..I am an IMG
2....also in my year off (if I need to take a year off)i was wondering if anybody knows of a place where I can do a few months of paid/unpaid research...
3.as an IMG how many programs do I need to apply to..
If anybody knows of any links,to the above questions if already answered ,thats fine too.thanking you in advance.:hardy:
Click to expand...


Reply

1. Well Hem/Onc fellowship is getting more and more competitive. Publication does count but if u dont have any, it doesnt mean u dont have any chance. But I would say that not having a research experience would def. put u in the wrong side of the road. I have seen US grads getting spots without any prior res exp. but never seen an IMG. So I would suggest do some research this yr and then apply next yr. You shud have some research involvement in your CV, not necessarily a publication.

2. there are lots of stuff you can do in the year in between. Geriatrics fellowship...you can get that easily u dont need to apply 2 yrs earlier for that. Another option wud be a chief year. Another.. difficult to get options wud be a one yr research spot(usually they are of 2 yrs), another hemonc related one yr fellowships like transfusion medicine etc etc.

3. As many as you can.

I tried to answer the ques to the best of my knowledge. If you have any other information please dont hesitate to share in this forum.

And Plz...if anyone has an answer to my question I asked earlier...whether a chief year wud help in attaining a hemonc fellowship ...I would really appreciate a response.

thanks,
Zorroo
 
Zorroo said:
And Plz...if anyone has an answer to my question I asked earlier...whether a chief year wud help in attaining a hemonc fellowship ...I would really appreciate a response.

thanks,
Zorroo
Click to expand...

Yes. A chief year is still considered a very prestigious academic credential, and you may be able to get some interviews on that credential alone (why? I have no idea, but it's true). If you get offered a Chief residency position, I would think hard before you turned it down - it counts for a lot. Unless you think you can get the fellowship of your choice without it, it would be wise to do it.
 
Hi i'm looking at the following programs and deciding whether to apply....

mayo clinic - jacksonville, FL
orlando regional, MD anderson

Are they just "affiliates" with Mayo and MD anderson respectively or are they actually pretty good academic centers? How many spots? Or is it more community based?

I've already spent a lot... how many are you all applying to this year?
 
hello tracevarash....i have applied to 59 programs. Dont know if I have gone overboard secondary to having panic attacks. Hoping to do okay. Apply as many as possible. It just gets bad every year. Goodluck.
 
I have applied to 32 programs.
born in US and MD from US school.
no idea if i've applied to too many or too few!!!!!!!:scared:
 
09 onc said:
I have applied to 32 programs.
born in US and MD from US school.
no idea if i've applied to too many or too few!!!!!!!:scared:
Click to expand...

It's probably too many. Assuming you didn't score 75s on the steps and had to scramble into a crappy community program, as an AMG you should be fine.
 
thanks for the good wishes!

I did it tonight- i hit the submit button! whew- i guess, now it's all about waiting until january. aghhhh!

anyone else out there?!?!
 
Just a question, Does it make sense to put in as 'research experience' the time you put into writing an abstract or paper. I kind of thought this was just repetition, but it does inherently make sense as a part of the continuum. Also ERAS will not accept future dates of poster presentation, so just wrote in November 2007 for the dec ASH meeting. thanks for answering, hope to see a lot of you at the ASH
 
applied to 30 some programs and I am tired and most of all BROKE!!!!!

I hope the programs provide me with some good accomodations, I am looking forward to stay in expensive hotels which I can not afford on a resident's salary otherwise. hehehe:D

Except for 1 letter, others are uploaded and in December the programs will d'load the applications...

lets see what does the holiday season bring us all...

Sopernova:thumbup:
 
hello guys:

hope everyone had a nice thanksgiving. Found out that all my letters are in and scanned. Need to upload my PS. Applied already. Hope the coming months bring good luck to all.

Inthian
 
Hi,

I was wondering if anyone knows if many programs provide hotel accommodations this time around (fellowship). I already spent a ton on applications, and traveling will only put us in a deeper hole. I know for residency, most places did not provide, however since fellowship program offers less interviews, i was wondering if they can afford to accommodate.

Lets keep the discussion moving guys!

Thanks!
 
tarcevarash said:
Hi,

I was wondering if anyone knows if many programs provide hotel accommodations this time around (fellowship). I already spent a ton on applications, and traveling will only put us in a deeper hole. I know for residency, most places did not provide, however since fellowship program offers less interviews, i was wondering if they can afford to accommodate.
Click to expand...

I had more residency programs pay for hotels (4 of 18) than fellowship (0 of 8) during interviews. YMMV.
 
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