VCU Department of Surgery

Please follow instructions on SSO web page. Include a completed and signed SSO application; your curriculum vitae, including awards honors, scholarships, societies, publications, etc.; documentation of exams you have taken (e.g. ABSITE, USMLE); a photograph; and three letters of recommendation: one from your Department of Surgery Chair or designee and two from faculty members who have worked closely with you during your surgery training. Invitations to interview will be issued by early August.

Applications are due no later than June 30.

Invitations to interview will be issued by early August.

The Division of Surgical Oncology at Virginia Commonwealth University’s VCU Medical Center offers one fellowship position each year into a 2 to 3-year program of advanced training in surgical oncology and cancer research. The first year is almost entirely clinical, and one or two additional years (depending on interest and funding) are predominantly devoted to basic research and basic science didactic training. The goal of the training experience is to produce an academic surgeon who is capable of taking a leadership role in the multi-disciplinary care of cancer patients, as well as being qualified to carry on basic and/or clinical translational research in cancer.

The first year consists of 7 months on the Surgical Oncology service, which includes primary evaluation, operative and post-operative care of patients with cancers of the breast, head and neck, esophagus, upper GI tract (including esophagus), pancreas and biliary tree, liver, colon and rectum, melanomas, and sarcomas. This service also provides all of the general surgical and supportive surgical care for patients with other non-surgical malignant diseases. Additional one-month rotations include: medical oncology, radiation oncology, thoracic surgery, gynecologic oncology, minimally invasive breast procedures, orthopedic oncology, and pathology (surgical and cytopathology).

MCV Hospitals has 779 beds (250 Surgery; 20 Surgical Oncology); over 1600 new cancer patients are seen each year. The Division of Surgical Oncology admits 450 patients per year and performs approximately 1,200 surgical procedures yearly, plus more than 200 oncologic procedures at the affiliated McGuire Veterans’ Administration Hospital. Care of patients with cancer at the VCU Medical Center is focused in the Massey Cancer Center, with a heavy emphasis on multi-disciplinary care for most patients. The Massey Cancer Center is an NCI-designated Clinical Cancer Center, with extensive clinical and basic research programs.

Clinical research opportunities are numerous; it is expected that the fellow will have an excellent background and training in the conduct of clinical research by the end of the training period. Throughout the training program, the fellow will participate in and learn how to organize clinical research trials for cancer treatment. There are numerous ongoing Phase I and II trials, as well as prospective randomized studies through cooperative groups. We are major contributors to National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) studies; we also participate in CALGB and RTOG trials. (Many of the NSABP study patients will be directly managed and followed by the fellow during his or her training.) In addition to formal course work (Biostatistics; Scientific Ethics), the fellow will accrue and manage patients on NSABP protocols under the guidance of an experienced clinical research nurse and the Surgical Oncology staff. The fellow will be expected to complete an online Human Research course to satisfy NIH/OHRP requirements for participation, and will “sit in” with Dr. Bear on meetings of the Massey Peer Review and Monitoring System, which meets twice a month and reviews all cancer-related clinical trials before they can be initiated.

The fellow will learn about all aspects of oncology and oncologic surgery from regular conferences and lectures, including: Surgical Oncology case conference (weekly), Breast Clinic conference (weekly), Breast Health Center (weekly), GI, Radiology, Surgery Conference (weekly), ward rounds with attendings (twice weekly), Surgical Grand Rounds (weekly), Surgery Death & Complications Conference (weekly), Tumor Board ( biweekly), GI Tumor Center ( weekly), Hematology/Oncology Fellows Lectures (weekly), and Surgical Oncology Journal Club (monthly). In addition, there is a monthly presentation by one of the fellows on a topic in surgical oncology, based on the SSO’s web-based bibliography. The Massey Cancer Center sponsors several seminars each month, at which local or visiting research scientists present on their work, and these are attended during the research training years.

The Massey Cancer Center is an NCI-designated Clinical Cancer Center, with extensive clinical and basic research programs. During the second and third years, the trainee can choose from numerous well-funded laboratory investigators as mentors, in any of the major programs of the Cancer Center. These include Immune Mechanisms, Cancer Cell Biology, Developmental Therapeutics, Radiation Biology and Oncology, and Cancer Control. During these years, the fellow will also take one graduate level basic science course each semester, such as Immunobiology, Biostatistics, Biology of Neoplasia, Molecular Biology, Scientific Ethics, or other courses in the basic science departments, depending on the specific needs and interests of the fellow.

By the time the fellow completes training, he/she should have published several papers on basic and clinical research topics, as well as one or two retrospective clinical review papers. Support is available for fellows to travel to major meetings and/or to present research results accepted for meetings. The program will prepare the trainee to enter an academic career, with the ability to carry out laboratory and clinical research, compete for funding and establish a strong clinical practice in an academic cancer center.

Reference: Society of Surgical Oncology Fellowship Match www.surgonc.org

CONTACT AND ADDRESS

Applications are due no later than June 30. Please follow instructions on SSO web page. Please include a completed and signed SSO application; your curriculum vitae, including awards honors, scholarships, societies, publications, etc.; documentation of exams you have taken (e.g. ABSITE, USMLE); a photograph; and three letters of recommendation: one from your Department of Surgery Chair or designee and two from faculty members who have worked closely with you during your surgery training. Invitations to interview will be issued by early August.

For additional information please refer to the following sites:

Any other questions should be directed to Ms. Keane Britton at the above address or at kbritton@vcu.edu