ONCOLOGYFellow
Vol. 2, Issue 4
S UPPORT & INFORMATION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF ONCOLOGY PRACTITIONERS
o oncologyfellowadvisor.com
Career Paths
Fellowship Training
A DAY IN THE LIFE
We highlight the work of medical director and clinical researcher Sandra Swain, MD.
2 5
CAREER PATHS
Community oncologists play vital 7 role in cancer research trials.
Oncology Fellow Advisor ® is brought to you as a professional courtesy by Lilly USA, LLC, and McMahon Publishing.
For the latest oncology fellow-related information, please visit www.oncologyfellowadvisor.com
Mentor Memos
Survey Says
Physician Finance
Fellows Benefit as Locum Tenens
FELLOWSHIP TRAINING
Experts discuss the importance of achieving work–life balance.
advisor
A
fter Sairah Ahmed, MD, completed her 4-year internal medicine residency and a 3-year fellowship in hematology-oncology, she decided to take a year off before embarking on another fellowship. But she wanted to earn money to support her further training, and she also wanted to see a bit of the country. “The locum [tenens] came in as a way to fund all of it,” she said. A locum tenens physician is one who temporarily substitutes for another physician. Working as a locum tenens physician can be an attractive option for those fresh out of fellowship, who
may have been training in the same geographic location for the past 7 years. “Locum tenens is a good way to find out what patients are like in different parts of the country, whether that’s see Locum Tenens, page 4
Ace Interview and Land Job
A
s a rule, oncologists in the United States train during fellowship at academic institutions; however, the majority (57%) will ultimately work in private practice. And of these private practice oncologists, most of them (46%) will work in groups with other physicians, mainly in singlespecialty practices alongside other oncologists.1 Although this training model works well for developing physicians’ clinical knowledge, it does not prepare them for the economic reality of cancer care in the community. Presidents of community practices say that associ-
ates emerging from fellowship often have unrealistic expectations, and it is often reflected in the interview process. “Many candidates have expectations that are frankly unrealistic. They expect to work very little, get paid a lot, and not have to worry about participating in the administration of the practice or teaching of the staff,” said Roger M. Lyons, MD, a hematologist who is director of the Myelodysplasia Center of Excellence, in San Antonio. For example, according to the Survey of Clinical Oncology Fellows see Ace Interview, page 6