The three-year Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship consists of 15 to 18 months of clinical experience and 18 to 21 months of research experience. The clinical experiences are primarily concentrated into the first year, with the second and third years focused on scholarly activity.

During your training at Mayo Clinic, you will gain experience through various clinical, research, and educational opportunities that include but are not limited to:

• Bone marrow transplant
• Benign hematology
• Hemostasis-thrombosis
• General oncology
• Neuro-oncology
• Clinical pharmacology/pharmacogenomics
• Cytogenetics
• Hematopathology
• Pain and palliative care
• Radiation/oncology
• Transfusion medicine

The program is structured to proved a diverse experience for all trainees while giving them real-life opportunities to participate in the practice of pediatric hematology/oncology in a variety of meaningful ways.

Clinical training

You will gain rich clinical experience during the fellowship as you care for a large number of patients with a broad range of hematologic and oncologic problems. The Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology evaluates 125 to 130 new oncology patients annually in addition to a large number of patients with hematologic conditions.

Fellows will gain experience in providing comprehensive care for simple and complex hematologic/oncologic conditions in outpatient and inpatient settings, and in enrolling and treating patients in clinical research trials. We additionally provide experience in laboratory diagnostics including hematopathology, specialized coagulation testing, and transfusion medicine. Fellows also learn to facilitate the integration of palliative care for patients with advanced disease. Rich elective opportunities are also available for cytogenetic and advanced genomic analyses and neuro-oncology.

Multidisciplinary programs

Highly skilled experts from Mayo Clinic's Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology in Minnesota work as part of a multispecialty team to provide customized care for patients with hematologic and oncologic conditions. Various multidisciplinary programs at Mayo Clinic include:

• Bone Marrow Transplant program. A part of the William J. von Liebig Center for Transplantation and Clinical Regeneration, the pediatric bone marrow transplant program performs approximately 20 transplants annually including autologous, allogeneic, and haploidentical transplants to treat malignant and non-malignant disorders. CAR-T therapy is also used to treat leukemias.
• Neuro-oncology program. Coordinating care for children with brain tumors, the team includes pediatric neuro oncology, child neurology, neurosurgery, neuroradiology, neuropathology, radiation oncology, pediatric neuropsychology, and other team members.
• Sarcoma program. A long-standing area of expertise for Mayo Clinic, our sarcoma team includes pediatric oncology, orthopedic oncology, radiology, pathology, radiation oncology, and other team members to coordinate care for patients with common and rare sarcomas.
• Comprehensive Hemophilia Center. As a designated comprehensive hemophilia treatment center, a team including pediatric hematologists, specialized nurses, social workers, physical therapists, and other team members provide cutting edge care to children with hemophilia.

We also partner with Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota to provide a focused one-month experience in sickle cell disease as well as with the University of Minnesota for a deeper experience in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

As a fellow, you also have a regular continuity clinic experience and will maintain a panel of patients with increasing level of autonomy through the years. This experience helps you establish an ongoing relationship with the patients during the three-year program.

Rotation schedule

The following is a typical rotation schedule:

First Year

Rotation	Length
Core clinical laboratories	12 weeks
Inpatient/outpatient rotations	34 weeks
Research	2 weeks
Sickle cell rotation	4 weeks

Second Year

Rotation	Length
Research	50 weeks
Electives	2 weeks

Third Year

Rotation	Length
Research	40-42 weeks
Inpatient "pre-tending"	4 weeks
Electives	2-4 weeks
Bone marrow transplantation	4 weeks

Electives

Elective time includes:

• Cytogenetics
• Neuro-oncology
• Pain and palliative medicine
• Radiation oncology

Didactic training

Fellows have a wide range of didactic opportunities, which include innovative educational programs to help build a very strong fund of knowledge while promoting lifelong learning and discovery.

Conferences include but are not limited to:

• Core lectures
• Tumor board
• Education sessions
• Journal club
• Board review sessions

In addition, various workshops also are conducted throughout the year on a multitude of topics, which include:

• Breaking bad news
• Chemotherapy competency training
• Cross-cultural communication
• Humanism and professionalism sessions

As a fellow, you can attend various Mayo Clinic-wide conferences if it suits your career interests, and can enroll in courses for credit within Mayo Clinic Graduate School.

Research training

Fellows receive a mentored research experience in laboratory and/or clinical research. In the first year, fellows receive initial exposure to research methods, potential mentors and ongoing research projects. In the second and third years, fellows have protected time for learning research methodology and hypothesis-driven research projects resulting in presentations and peer-reviewed publications. 

Fellows also have access to unique research opportunities that are available to very few trainees in the nation. This opportunity can provide the trainee a strong platform for academic growth and a future career as a leader in the field.

Laboratory science track

Fellows have access not only to the investigators within the division of pediatric hematology-oncology, but also those from related disciplines including radiation oncology, pathology, transfusion medicine, as well as any investigator from adult hematology, oncology, or basic science departments. Our goal is to help you achieve your career goals!

In the second and third years, you have the opportunity to train in Mayo Clinic’s NIH-sponsored program in pediatric clinical pharmacology. Best suited to fellows interested in laboratory-based research, this program runs concurrently during the second and third fellowship and involves research as well as coursework geared towards training future leaders in experimental therapeutics and precision medicine. Completion of this program leads to eligibility for board certification in clinical pharmacology in addition to pediatric hematology-oncology.

Clinical science track

Fellows interested in a primarily clinical career, or one involving clinical and translational research, may find other opportunities for training at Mayo Clinic. As a member of the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), Mayo Clinic is very active in enrolling patients on international clinical trials with program faculty members involved in COG disease committees as well as the Hemostasis and Thrombosis Research Society. 

Interested fellows also can pursue a diploma or master's degree in clinical and translational science. Coursework helps provide the skills to prepare fellows to become leaders in pediatric clinical research. The program provides generous support for presenting research work at national and international society meetings. Fellows also have the opportunity to attend (without presenting) one expenses-paid national conference.

Call frequency

First year fellows are required to be on call only when assigned to hospital service (four months). Call includes daytime calls related to inpatient and emergency department calls as well as overnight call from home with one day off per week.

Second year fellows take weekend call once-per-month. Mayo Clinic follows the recommendations of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Teaching opportunities

Fellows have ample opportunities for teaching residents and medical students in the clinical setting. They also attend workshops on the skills needed to become successful educators.

Evaluation

Mayo Clinic uses MedHub for evaluating trainees. As a fellow, you will be evaluated using established milestones following each rotation you complete, each presentation you give, and all procedures you do. Evaluations include 360͘ evaluations (including peer-to-peer and allied health staff evaluations). MedHub also allows you to evaluate your supervising physicians and the program so we can continue to provide the best educational experience for our fellows.