Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Education
The Division's educational mission is to impart knowledge, instill excitement for learning, and translate important clinical questions into focused areas of research. We provide educational opportunities for medical students, pediatric residents, and pediatric hematology and oncology fellows, as well as junior faculty. The Division prides itself on an atmosphere that welcomes new ideas, change, and creativity for education.
Medical Students
The Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology embraces its education of medical students at UT Southwestern through inpatient and outpatient experiences.
During their third year, medical students from UT Southwestern spend eight weeks in pediatrics training at Children's Medical Center Dallas, located on the UTSW campus. Approximately one-fourth of these students will spend two weeks on the Inpatient Hematology/Oncology Service.
Fourth-year medical students have the option to participate in a four-week elective in the outpatient hematology/oncology clinics in the Pauline Allen Gill Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's.
Residents
Pediatric hematology-oncology counts as one of the core subspecialties for pediatric residents at UT Southwestern. Most PL-1s spend four weeks covering the Inpatient Hematology/Oncology Service at Children's Health. Each month, a PL-2 or PL-3 supervising resident plus three or four PL-1s join the service.
The month-long rotation teaches residents to care for very sick patients with complicated, life-threatening conditions. Over the course of the rotation, several afternoons a week are set aside for enhanced learning opportunities, including lectures, pathology review, and bedside teaching. The curriculum covers most, if not all, of the American Board of Pediatrics content specifications for disorders of the blood and neoplastic disorders.
Pediatric residents may also elect to spend a month in the outpatient clinic at the Gill Center during their second or third year. This assignment allows residents to learn about and help care for children with a wide range of hematologic and oncologic conditions not typically seen in the inpatient setting. Residents spend time in several clinics, including:
- General hematology
- Hemophilia
- Thrombosis
- General oncology
- Neuro-oncology
- Stem cell transplantation
Residents also attend educational programs offered by the Division, including:
- Weekly hemostasis and sickle cell team meetings
- Hematological malignancy and solid tumor patient care conferences
- A weekly research seminar
- A tumor board
Fellows
The Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology provides clinical fellowship training at Children's Health℠ Children's Medical Center. Our fellowship program earned accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and now accepts three new trainees each year.