The field of pediatric hematology/oncology encompasses a broad array of disorders of infants, children, and adolescents with cancer and non-malignant disorders of the blood and blood-forming tissues. The intent of the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program is to train pediatricians in the prevention, diagnosis and management of disease so as to provide comprehensive, compassionate care for children and adolescents. Our training programs share a common goal to provide future academic pediatricians with a foundation to become competent clinicians, researchers, and educators. To achieve this, the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Training Program at Connecticut Children’s has the following objectives:
- To provide the clinical experiences and educational opportunities necessary to build a solid foundation of medical knowledge, critical thinking abilities, literature review, diagnostic acumen and technical skills.
- To provide academic pediatricians the critical thinking skills, intellectual environment, and research training and experience to develop careers as physician-scientists.
- To train well-rounded, empathetic clinicians to develop skills in communication and counseling with patients and families.
- To impart to our fellows the skills necessary to become lifelong learners and teachers, and develop leadership skills and work effectively with team members.
- To impart to our fellows a sense of responsibility to act as advocates for the health of children and families within our society.
- To expose our fellows to the concept of multi-institutional collaborative research as exemplified by the pediatric oncology cooperative groups and encourage them to become active members of the profession’s national societies.
- To prepare future pediatric hematologists/oncologists for the changes taking place within our health care system including managed care, limitations on resource utilization, and the shift of medical care to ambulatory settings.
- To create pediatric hematologists/oncologists able to practice the culturally competent medical care necessary in our increasingly diverse population.
- To teach professionalism by mentorship, validating the critical roles of personal ethics, responsibility, respect, compassion, communication, and self-awareness.
- To provide our training in an environment of respect and support, recognizing that fellowship training is a difficult and challenging time in one’s life.
Curriculum Strengths
- Continuity Clinic to provide longitudinal exposure to children with blood disorders and cancer
- Multidisciplinary Care to provide compassionate care, innovative treatment options and novel clinical therapies.
- Diverse patient population to provide excellent clinical experience with exposure to cutting-edge clinical trials.
- Specialized programs: Sarcoma Program, Hematologic Malignancy Program, Hemostasis and Thrombosis, Sickle Cell Disease, Neuro-Oncology Program, Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program, Advanced Therapeutic Program, Palliative Care Program (Sunflower Kids), REACH for the STARS Survivorship Program, Supportive Care Program, Cardio-Oncology Program, and Onco-Fertility Program.