LENGTH OF FELLOWSHIP: One year
START DATE: May 15th
ACADEMIC AFFILIATION: McGill University, Hematology residency program.
NAME OF HOSPITALS: McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and Jewish General Hospital (JGH)
FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Dr. Kelly Davison (kelly.davison [at] mcgill.ca)
TEACHING FACULTY: Fellows will be assigned a primary research supervisor who will oversee the content and progress of the research project.
ACADEMIC FACILITIES: Fellows will have access to a safe working environment workspace with the necessary equipment to perform their research. They will also have access to clinical laboratory facilities that includes a microscope for the evaluation of bone marrow aspirates and blood smears and access to flow cytometry, molecular and cytogenetics data.
FUNDING: Candidates must secure funding (as per PGME guidelines) to apply for this fellowship.
NUMBER OF FELLOWSHIP POSITIONS: One to two fellows per year
PROGRAM ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: Hematology clinician-scientist fellows must have completed Hematology core training at an institution with Royal College certification or equivalent for foreign fellows. Proficiency in English or French, preferably both, is required. The fellowship will be awarded based on the applicant’s letter of intent, CV, past performance and an online or in person interview, depending on circumstances. The deadline for application is March 1st of each year.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This is a research-intensive fellowship focused on a focused aspect of benign or malignant hematology. The chosen research project could be fundamental, translational or clinical in nature, work towards which will constitute 75% of the fellow’s time. Fellows will be expected to present their work at one or more conferences and prepare a manuscript for publication. Clinical duties will comprise 25% of the fellow’s time (eg ten outpatient half-day clinics per month (possibly alternating weeks with two or three half-day clinics per week), or two half-day clinics per week with one weekend “on-call” per month). Fellows will be expected to present their research topic to hematology trainees at one of their academic half-days.
CONTACT EMAIL: residency.hematology [at] mcgill.ca
Program Information
CLINICAL: Fellows will be assigned a clinical supervisor who will oversee the teaching and evaluation of clinical work. Clinics may take place at the MUHC or JGH or both, with the location and content of clinics be at the discretion of the program director and research supervisor. Fellows who wish to gain exposure to in-patient clinical duties will be asked to provide one weekend of call per month, where duties will consist of evaluating patients on the consult service and wards.
TEACHING: Fellows are invited to attend academic half days with hematology residency trainees when the topics are relevant to their field of research. In addition, they are welcom to attend sessions dedicated to laboratory evaluation of conditions related to malignant or benign hematology. They will get more informal teaching by their assigned hematologist around the cases they see in the clinics or while on call. They will have the opportunity to present challenging cases at tumor boards or case rounds. Additionally, fellows will be expected to present at academic rounds and journal clubs once per year at each academic site, on a topic of their choice.
RESEARCH: This is a primary research fellowship, where 75% of the fellow’s time will be dedicated to their research project. The project’s aims will be determined with input from the research supervisor, who will be a faculty member at either the MUHC or JGH. Faculty research programs can be found on the McGill University website. Opportunities exist in fundamental, translation, clinical and outcomes research. Fellows who wish to undertake a two-year research project will be encouraged to enroll in the clinician investigator program if they meet eligibility requirements (https://www.mcgill.ca/clinicianinvestigator/eligibility).
FELLOW DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Duties and responsibilities evolve over the course of the fellowship to prepare fellows for independent practice as a clinician-scientist. Clinical duties include evaluating hematology patients in the outpatient clinics or in the inpatient setting while on call. Fellows are also expected to participate in teaching the hematology trainees within the residency program, and to complete a research project with a dedicated supervisor.
EVALUATION AND FEEDBACK: Fellows are expected to discuss the progress of their research and meet with their research supervisor on a regular basis. The research supervisor will be responsible for evaluating the fellow based on CanMed competencies that are specific for clinician-scientists at 3- month intervals. These evaluations will be submitted to the fellowship directors. If fellows participate in clinical duties, feedback will be provided by the assigned hematologist who will be responsible to oversee the performance of the clinical work.
ENRICHMENT OF THE HOST RESIDENCY TRAINING PROGRAM: The hematology residency training program will be enriched by clinician-investigator fellows through their contribution to resident teaching at academic half days, where fellows will be asked to deliver one teaching session on a topic of their choice. They will also contribute to fruitful discussions at tumour board meetings, journal clubs and the hematology academic half days that they attend. Fellows will also provide residents with the opportunity for research collaboration.
ELECTIVES: Electives will not be permitted during the year-long fellowship.
VACATIONS: Fellows will be entitled to four weeks of vacation per year.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
- Specialized clinics
- Specialized clinical laboratory access (next generation sequencing, cytogenetics, flow cytometry)
- Biobanks, registries and laboratory bench space, depending on the fellow’s research interests
- Microscopy facilities for evaluation of bone marrow aspirates and blood smears
READING MATERIAL: Relevant reading material will be provided by the program director and/or research supervisor at the start of the fellowship year.
At the end of the fellowship, the trainee will have acquired the following competencies:
MEDICAL EXPERT:
- Functions as ethical clinical investigator
- Seeks appropriate consultation from others as required
- Develops research skills in study/experimental design
- Records and interprets data accurately
COMMUNICATOR:
- Communicates with subjects, peers and other professionals participating in the research project.
- Communicates research findings in oral presentations at rounds or conferences.
- Communicates research findings in written reports and/or manuscripts
- Participates actively in teaching sessions
COLLABORATOR:
- Participates in interprofessional research teams
- Works effectively with the other hematologists involved in clinical care
SCHOLAR:
- Critically reviews the literature
- Critically evaluates data and applies to research
- Educates residents in hematology about research-related topics at their academic half day
- Conducts continuous self-directed learning
PROFESSIONAL:
- Applies the principles of good clinical practice (GCP) and if appropriate, obtains division 5 certification to conduct clinical research
- Performs research with integrity, honesty and compassion
- Understands the professional, legal and ethical codes to which clinician-scientists are bound
Dr. Kelly Davison