Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine campus is seen in an aerial photo during the fall.

Hematology/Oncology Fellowship

Program Overview

The Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State Cancer Institute is a three-year, ACGME-accredited program that admits three fellows per year.

The Hematology Track is a separate, two-year, ACGME-accredited program that admits one fellow per year.

Program Details

The three-year combined Hematology/Oncology Fellowship will prepare the trainee for obtaining board certification in both disciplines. Our program is affiliated with the Lebanon VA Hospital in Lebanon, PA.

The two-year Hematology Track within our Hematology/Oncology Fellowship is intended to equip trainees with the knowledge and skills needed to address complex problems in blood diseases, with a focus on benign hematology. Trainees in the two-year Hematology Track will be required to develop individual research projects to be completed within six months of the two-year fellowship. A third year in either clinical or basic/translational research will be facilitated for trainees who successfully complete the two-year program and are committed to to a career in academic medicine.

The Graduate Medical Education Office coordinates residents interested in participating in a Hematology/Oncology elective at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Learn more about visiting residents here.

Program Highlights

  • Bone marrow transplant program
  • Cancer genetics program
  • Clinical trials: ECOG, NSABP, RTOG, pharmaceutical industry trials
  • Gynecologic oncology
  • Health population sciences
  • Hemophilia program
  • Membership in PSOH (Pennsylvania Society of Oncology and Hematology)
  • Opportunity to participate in basic science and laboratory research
  • Palliative care medicine
  • Pediatric hematology/oncology
  • Radiation oncology

Our Team

Curriculum

Sections involved in the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship include:

  • Biostatistics Course
  • Continuity Clinic
  • Gynecologic Oncology and Genetics
  • Hematology Consultation Service
  • Hematology Lab
  • Inpatient Oncology and Consultation Service
  • Lebanon VA Hospital
  • Outpatient Clinic
  • Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
  • Palliative Care
  • Radiation Therapy
  • Stem Cell Transplant

Practice-Based Learning

QOPI is a twice-a-year chart review that serves as our ACGME-required Practice Based Learning improvement project. Learn more about QOPI here.

Didactics

Didactic learning includes the following:

Fellows’ noon conferences are held Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays on the following topics:

  • Basic Science Core
  • Biostatistics Core
  • Pharmacology Core
  • Ethics and Communications Core
  • Case Presentations
  • Journal Club

Evaluations

Evaluations of the fellows will be completed using the following methods:

  • Individual semi-annual reviews
  • Multisource (360-degree) evaluations
  • Self-assessments
  • Systematic annual program review

Bone Marrow Biopsy Training

All new fellows will do marrows on the inpatient services supervised by senior fellows until they have demonstrated competence.

Logs will be kept of all procedures.
Each new fellow will arrange with day hospital mid-levels to do marrows with them. The fellows will keep a log of these. Each new fellow will do a minimum of five marrows in that setting. Whenever the mid-levels assess the fellow as competent (at any point after doing 5), a faculty member will then observe the fellow doing a marrow. Documentation of their competence will be sent to the program coordinator. Once judged competent, the fellow will then be able to do marrows independently. Remedial training will be available, as needed.

To Apply

The Hematology/Oncology Fellowship participates in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP), and all applications are submitted through Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS).

Application Requirements

Hematology/Oncology Fellowship

  • Possess an MD or DO degree
  • Be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, permanent resident or holder of a J-1 training visa per institutional policies
  • Have successfully completed an ACGME-accredited internal medicine residency training program

Hematology Track

  • Possess an MD or DO degree, or a doctoral degree in a related discipline
  • Be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, permanent resident, or holder of a J-1 training visa per institutional policies
  • Have successfully completed an ACGME-accredited internal medicine residency training program
  • Have a commitment to a career focused on benign hematology, with a specific interest in hemostasis and thrombosis

Submissions

You will need to submit the following information through ERAS:

  • ERAS application
  • CV
  • Three letters of recommendation (one from your residency program director)
  • Medical school transcript
  • USMLE Scores
  • Personal statement
    • At the top of your personal statement, you must indicate whether you’re applying for Hematology/Oncology or Hematology. Applicants may not apply to both programs.

Faculty

The core faculty in the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship and the Hematology Track are full-time academic physicians committed to patient care, teaching and laboratory and clinical research.

Many allied faculty at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and affiliated institutions participate in training the fellows.

Faculty research interests include endocrine oncology, transplant immunology, LGL leukemia, bleeding and clotting disorders, bone metastases, tumor biology and population science.

Current Fellows

Contact Us

Mailing Address

Division of Hematology/Oncology
500 University Dr.
CH46
Hershey, PA 17033-0850