Hematology Fellowship Program

Objectives of the Fellowship Program

Objectives of the Hematology Training Program at the University of Southern California School of Medicine.

To train physicians who have completed 3 years of internal medicine training (including internship) in the clinical skills necessary for the sub-specialty practice of hematology.

To train physicians who have completed 3 years of internal medicine training (including internship) in the clinical, teaching, and research skills necessary for a full-time faculty position in academic hematology.

To provide one year of hematology training for those physicians who are also taking 1 year of oncology training, so that they may be eligible for both the oncology and hematology sub-specialty boards.

To provide basic instruction in clinical hematology to residents, interns, and medical students.

Thorough training in general clinical hematology, including hematologic malignancy, through:

• Examination and management of a large number of patients with a variety of hematologic disorders.
• Extensive exposure to hematologic morphologic material, peripheral blood smears, bone marrow smears and sections of lymph node biopsies.
• Exposure to special hematologic test methods: osmotic fragility, sucrose hemolysis, urine hemosiderin, hemoglobin electrophoresis, flow cytometry, molecular techniques.

Special training in the clinical and laboratory work-up of patients with disorders of hemostasis. Because of the Section's interest in these patients, an unusual opportunity exists to develop competence in this area of clinical hematology.

Training in techniques of teaching clinical hematology to house officers and medical students.

Beginning training in research through undertaking a clinical or laboratory research project.

Training in self-learning through emphasis upon reading and discussing the hematologic literature.

Organization of the Fellowship Years

There is one general hematology clinic each week and one lymphoma-leukemia clinic each week. The fellow is assigned to one general hematology clinic and the lymphoma-leukemia clinic which he or she attends throughout the two years and where the Fellow may follow the same basic group of patients. In addition, three months of the year, the fellows spends one afternoon per week in the Kaposi's sarcoma Clinic or AIDS/Lymphoma Clinic.

The fellow spends 3 months per year on the Hematology Ward at LAC/USC Medical Center where he/she receives intensive training in the diagnosis and management of seriously ill patients with acute or chronic leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease, multiple myeloma and other disorders.

The fellow spends 2-3 months each year in the USC/Norris Cancer Hospital and Research Institute where he/she is responsible for the diagnosis and management of patients referred for investigative protocols and for patients on the autologous Bone Marrow Transplantation Unit.

Approximately six months during the two years are spent on the Consultation Service, which is responsible for answering the requests for consultation on adult inpatients at the Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center, and the USC/University Hospital.

The Fellow is also provided time for the following added training experiences:

• Special training in clinical coagulation methodology.
• Participation in a clinical and/or laboratory research project.
• Evaluation of referred private patients with complex clinical hematologic problems.

Each fellow is entitled to a one-month vacation each year.

In addition to the above, there are opportunities to spend elective time in Hematopathology, Oncology, Blood bank, Venous Thrombosis laboratory, Radiation Oncology, and others.

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