Curriculum
Formal coursework is supplemented by a challenging and stimulating schedule of programs that includes monthly multidisciplinary debates on controversial topics in oncology; “Meet the Professor” lectures featuring topics chosen by the fellows; and weekly, institute-wide presentations by the most recognized names in the field of oncology. All fellows participate in at least two meetings each of both Roswell Park’s Scientific Review Committee for protocol development and Institutional Review Board, and annually complete two academic projects for national presentation and peer-reviewed publication.
Approved by the Society of Surgical Oncology
This fellowship comprises:
- Three-month block rotations in the major disciplines of Surgical Oncology: Upper GI, Lower GI, Hepatobiliary, Melanoma/Sarcoma, Breast and Endocrine.
- One-month rotations in Thoracic, Radiation Oncology, Pathology and subspecialty electives.
- Five months of electives for clinical and/or research, during which fellows may further their experience in one of the major disciplines; or pursue subspecialty electives in Head and Neck, Endoscopy, Urologic Oncology or Gynecologic Oncology.
- Extensive opportunities and support are available to clinical fellows in all scientific and clinical research studies.
Trainee Lecture Series
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center sponsors a Trainee Lecture Series of weekly conferences attended by clinical and research students, residents and fellows in Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Pathology and Surgical Oncology. It is open to trainees of all other disciplines as well. This survey course addresses issues ranging from ethics to molecular biology and is arranged to cover specific topics on a yearly cycle. Modules of lectures are devoted to developmental therapeutics, immunology, molecular biology, epidemiology and population sciences, clinical trial design and statistics, and other oncology-related topics. Approximately 80 weekly lectures are held during a two-year cycle.
The Trainee Lecture Series has become an important part of the educational environment for clinical trainees and research students at Roswell Park and is well attended. It also provides another forum for clinical trainees from different specialty areas to interact with each other in an intellectually collaborative arena.
"As a trainee who had entered the program with minimal exposure to robotics, I found it particularly helpful to have had access to the Da Vinci simulator, working through the curriculum of training modules that had been set up for us. Also, the Intuitive training course that Dr. Kukar arranged for us in Florida to work on advanced GI and HPB operations such as MIE and robotic Whipple was extremely helpful in giving us dedicated time to practice key steps. With regard to academics, some of the highlights included multidisciplinary conferences such as the Pancreatic Cancer Symposium, which was great not only for us to discuss and debate updates on hot topics, but also to have face-to-face time with the other departments that we work with closely (Med Onc, GI, Rad Onc, etc). Last but not least regarding the social aspects, I really valued all of the team building events that we did together, like axe throwing, curling, and fundraisers such as Ride for Roswell and the PanCAN walk."
Joy Sarkar, Class of 2023
Tripler Army Medical Center
Honolulu, HI