The Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is a three-year fellowship. The first year is dedicated to completion of a Master’s degree in gynecologic oncology and years two through three are focused on clinical education. The mission of the Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship is to develop gynecologic oncologists who are exceptional surgeons and compassionate clinicians. We expect the fellows will graduate with the ability to become leaders in clinical practice, research, and education.

Research

During your first year of fellowship, you will complete a Master of Science degree in gynecologic oncology and complete a thesis which will fulfill ABOG board certification requirements. Mayo Clinic is a leader in gynecologic cancer research, with active, federally funded programs in endometrial and ovarian cancer. It also holds one of the few National Cancer Institute SPORE grants for ovarian cancer research.

Research projects are tailored to your research interests, prior experience, and career goals. A thesis advisor and a thesis committee will assist and advice you to assure a successful research thesis project. Historically, fellows have completed outcomes based, qualitative, translational, and lab-based projects. Examples of recent fellow thesis projects include defining molecular characteristics of vulvar cancer and development of a prospective treatment protocol, validation of a risk/prediction model of ovarian cancer therapy, role of microbiome in endometrial cancer development, frailty and sarcopenia in ovarian cancer patients, and artificial intelligence and ultrasound diagnosis of ovarian masses.

In the first year, you will complete graduate level coursework in statistics, epidemiology, tumor biology, quantitative research, artificial intelligence and more. These courses improve your competency in research and lead to a Master’s of science.

Beyond the first year and thesis completion, you may participate in several research projects with faculty mentors of your choice. You can expect to graduate with a minimum of three first author publications.

Clinical rotations

In the second and third year of fellowship you will focus on clinical and surgical skills. Rotations are five to 10 weeks in length. You will spend most of your time on gynecologic surgery rotations and have one five- to six-week rotation with the medical oncology team. While on the gynecologic surgery rotations, you will spend one half day each week working one on one with the gynecologic medical oncologists. Additional rotations include colorectal surgery (five to six weeks) and palliative care (two weeks). An example of the three-year block schedule is below:

*Gynecologic Oncology fellows continue to see patients with a medical oncologist one afternoon every week when they are on a GYN Surgery block.

**Gynecologic Oncology fellows rotate two weeks with the Palliative Care team; one week of inpatient and one week of outpatient.

Didactics and conferences

The Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship has carefully and intentionally designed an 18-month gynecologic oncology curriculum to provide a comprehensive foundation for you. You will participate in weekly faculty-led didactic conferences on Wednesday afternoons. The didactic curriculum consists of lecture-based learning and problem-based learning. The didactic curriculum includes wellness and professional development topics.

In addition to the fellow didactic curriculum, you will attend weekly conferences:

• Gynecologic Oncology Multidisciplinary Conference: This conference is focused on the clinical practice and advancing the science in gynecologic cancer care. In the past year, topics presented during this conference included journal club, molecular characteristics of endometrial cancer and implications in treatment, and immunotherapy in the treatment of gynecologic malignancies.
• Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Grand Rounds
• Gynecologic Oncology Tumor Board: This conference is fellow-led and focuses on evidence to develop treatment plans for the most complex gynecologic patients. Discussion is in-depth and thus we limit discussion to four patients. Some patients that might be presented include endometrial cancer with ITCs in lymph nodes, pelvic side wall recurrence of cervical cancer, and rare tumor histology.

Unique training opportunities

• Ovarian cancer debulking cadaver labs multiple times throughout your training to augment your learning in the operating room, hone your anatomic knowledge, and evaluate your skills as a surgeon
• Advanced robotic skills cadaver lab with opportunities to enhance your skills in robotic omentectomy, bowel resection, and para-aortic nodes ·
• Annual pelvic and abdominal anatomy course for OB/GYN residents and fellows
• Chemotherapy emergency simulation
• Access to the robotic trainer to enhance your robotic skills

Individualized learning

Throughout the fellowship you will meet with the program director, thesis advisory committee, and thesis advisor to help you succeed and achieve your goals. Mayo Clinic has ample opportunities for fellows interested in research, education, innovation, quality improvement, health care delivery, artificial intelligence, and more. The program makes every effort to assist you in reaching your specific career goals.