St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is proud to partner with The University of Tennessee College of Medicine and LeBonheur Children’s Hospital for residency education. UTHSC Pediatric and Medicine/Pediatric residents learn to care for children with hematology and oncology disorders at St. Jude during their second year. Residents interested in a career in pediatric hematology or oncology may choose to spend extra elective months at St. Jude.
Residents in Categorical Pediatrics spend two months at St. Jude with one month focused on oncology and another focused on hematology. Their time is split evenly between inpatient, outpatient, and night-float rotations. Residents in Medicine/Pediatrics spend one month at St. Jude including three weeks rotating through outpatient oncology and hematology clinics and one week on night float.
Inpatient Time
In addition to the resident, an inpatient team is typically comprised of an attending physician, a heme/onc fellow, 2-3 nurse practitioners, and a medical student. Residents rotate with both the Leukemia and Solid Tumor/Neuro-Oncology teams. While on an inpatient rotation, the resident will conduct themselves like they would on any ward team. They will carry their own census of patients and be responsible for all daily care for those children including presenting on rounds, writing notes and discharge summaries, placing orders, following up with consultants, and, most importantly, communicating with the family and the patient. They are also responsible for assisting with admissions for newly diagnosed children.
On night float, the resident is responsible for one inpatient floor/team. They are the first call for all questions and concerns regarding their patients. Residents are supervised by clinical fellows and attending physicians for any complex concerns (ie: chemotherapy questions, ill children, etc.). Residents are also responsible for checking in on newly admitted patients and assisting with admission for newly diagnosed children.
Outpatient Time
Residents rotate through the Hematology and Solid Tumor clinics. In clinic, they will work hand in hand with the attending physician or nurse practitioner during routine outpatient visits, sick visits, and new patient workups.
Educational Opportunities
There are abundant educational experiences from both St. Jude faculty and guest speakers renowned in their fields during each rotation at St. Jude. Residents are encouraged to attend all major hospital conferences including Grand Rounds, Fellows Rounds, Leukemia/Lymphoma/BMT, Solid Tumor weekly conferences, and other conferences based on the resident’s goals and interests. In addition, St. Jude faculty provides education to all of the pediatric residents by presenting all of the Hematology and Oncology Noon Conferences at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. Finally, there are two weekly educational lectures designed specifically for residents. In our Core Lecture Series, the Program Director of Pediatric Resident Education presents a series of lectures with a core curriculum focused on Hematology/Oncology concepts all Pediatricians must master. In our Resident Education sessions, senior fellows and faculty with expertise in education join the residents for Pediatrics Board review questions and case discussions.
Research Opportunities
With over 200 active labs at St. Jude, research opportunities are available to residents who have a specific interest in hematology/oncology research. In most cases, the research is arranged and approved by a specific physician scientist. Recent resident research projects have included work in Pediatric HIV, Survivorship, Hodgkin’s disease, sickle cell disease, thrombosis, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, neurological complications, pain management, and cancer genetics and predisposition just to name a few.
Elective Opportunities
UTHSC and other residents in ACGME approved programs can arrange to come to St. Jude during their first, second or third year for Hematology/Oncology electives. In addition to the Hem/Onc elective, other elective opportunities are available in the following specialties: Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapy, Infectious Disease and Pediatric HIV, After Completion of Therapy and Survivorship, Radiation Oncology, Anesthesia, Pathology, and Surgical Oncology.