Ascension Providence Hospital Hematology Oncology

Faculty Contact: Howard Terebelo, MD

Rotation Location: Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield Campus

Duration of the Rotation: 2 weeks (MSUCHM only) or 4 weeks

Students Per Month: 2

Work Hours: Weekdays; no call

Prerequisites: 2 years of medical school; MCE completion for MSUCHM Students; completion of Internal Medicine core clerkship for students from other schools

MSUCHM Course #: MED 610

General: The student is responsible for various aspects of patient care, specifically daily rounds, histories and physical examinations, progress notes and discharge summaries.  In addition to these activities, the student will observe bone marrow aspirates and bone biopsies on assigned patients. The student will have the option of inpatient consultation and outpatient experience of 4 to 8 hours per week.

Recommended Reading:

  • Rubin, Philip, Sandra McDonald, and Raman Qazi. Clinical Oncology: A Multidisciplinary Approach for Physicians and Students.  8th edition. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders, 1993. Print.
  • Ackerman, Lauren Vedder, Del Regato Juan A., Harlan J. Spjut, and James D. Cox. Ackerman and Del Regato's Cancer: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prognosis. 6th ed. St. Louis: Mosby, 1985. Print
  • DeVita, Vincent T., Theodore S. Lawrence, and Steven A. Rosenberg. DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg's Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2011. Print.

Goals & Objectives:

The elective in Hematology/Oncology maintains five major objectives, which are as follows:

  • To familiarize the student with the multidisciplinary approach to neoplastic disease through working with hematology/oncologists, surgeons, radiation therapists, social workers, palliative care physicians, hospice staff, medical residents and fellows in oncology
  • To involve the medical student in the field of cancer and hematologic malignancies and in a treatment approach that addresses all comorbidities, the complexities of the geriatric patient and includes all the disciplines of medicine
  • To allow the student to become familiar with the management of the most common malignancies such as breast cancer, carcinoma of the lung, colon carcinoma, leukemia and lymphoma and to understand the fundamentals of chemotherapy
  • To help the student gain proficiency in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, such as bone marrow performance and interpretation
  • To expose the student to investigational protocols

Several conferences are held during the student’s rotation in oncology.  It is necessary for students to attend tumor board, journal club, multidisciplinary conferences (GI, biliary, genitourinary, breast, leukemia/lymphoma, lung, chief’s rounds) and the fellow didactic lectures.  Morning report is also considered a part of the student’s daily routine.

Evaluation: During the student’s training period, he/she is evaluated on the medical knowledge retained. The student is supervised by the first-year oncology fellows but at the end of the rotation, the Rotation Director will collect data from the supervising physician and other medical team members and complete a written evaluation of the student that is reflective of the student’s academic competence, procedural proficiency and professional attributes. The standard medical school form from the student’s medical school will be used. If required, the student should complete a case log and an evaluation of the rotation and submit them to their medical school.