Medical Oncology | Oncology | School of Medicine

Year One

The first year of the training program consists of core oncology rotations including:

Medical Oncology
Hematology
Palliative Care
In-patient rotations

The majority of the clinical experience in medical oncology takes place in the outpatient setting. Residents are assigned to tumour specific sites and spend 2-3 month rotations attending and participating in these clinics during the first year. Residents are also involved in providing in-patient consultation services according to the site-specific rotation.

Year Two

The second year of training includes:

NCIC CTG Statistical and Operations
Medical Oncology
In-patient rotations
Research and other electives

During the in-patient rotations, the resident acts as a Junior Consultant on the ward working with internal medicine house staff and with attending staff back up.

The scheduled rotations provide the trainee with the opportunity to gain experience in all aspects of the practice of medical oncology and to interact with complimentary disciples including radiation, hematology, gynecology and surgical oncology, ENT, infectious disease and palliative care. The close affiliation and good working relationship with the host hospital ensures interaction and collaboration with internal medicine, surgical and radiology specialties.

Year Three

For residents interested in additional training, Queen’s University also offers a Clinical Investigator Program (CIP). This program offers integrated clinical and research training and the opportunity to earn a graduate degree while completing residency. For more information, please visit http://meds.queensu.ca/education/cip.

NCIC CTG Statistical and Operations Office Rotation - NEW

The NCIC Clinical Trials Group is a cooperative oncology group which carries out clinical trials in cancer therapy, supportive care and prevention across Canada and internationally. It is one of the national programmes and networks of the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute (CCSRI), and is supported by the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS).

The NCIC CTG has two main areas of study: investigational new drugs; and comparative randomized (phase III) trials. The NCIC CTG's role in investigational new drug trials is to provide a centralized focus of knowledge, expertise, and experience to help Canadian investigators compete successfully for access to promising and scientifically interesting new agents. The Phase III program develops and conducts randomized trials across the spectrum of adult malignancies.

The main objective of the rotation for residents is to be exposed to the operational aspects of study conduct from an Investigator perspective including but not restricted to:

Safety oversight
Regulatory oversight, quality assurance/monitoring
Protocol development and conduct
Ethics & compliance principles including consent document generation
Data Management; data compilation, checking, and analysis

This experience will provide exposure to the knowledge and skill base required for a clinical trialist to meaningfully participate in clinical studies in oncology, and will complement other activities such as the biennial NCIC CTG New Investigator Clinical Trials Course and the NCIC CTG Annual Spring Meeting of Participants

The program is committed to providing a wide range of research opportunities for residents. A research mentor is assigned to residents on entry into the program and residents are expected to have at least one research project underway by the second year.

One of the strong assets of the research component of the program is access to several internationally renowned cancer research groups based at the Queen’s Cancer Research Institute (QCRI). Several members of these groups are also members of the Medical Oncology department.

The Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology at QCRI is a cancer health services research unit comprised of clinician-scientists, epidemiologists, and biostatisticians. This multidisciplinary research group evaluates access to cancer services, the management and outcome of cancer in the general population, and public policy related to cancer prevention and treatment.

NCIC Clinical Trials Group (NCIC CTG) is a national research group that develops, conducts, and analyses multi-institutional trials of cancer therapy. Residents are encouraged to participate in the clinical research activities/meetings of the NCIC-CTG. This Queen's University based group is internationally recognized for its expertise in the design, conduct and analysis of Phase I, II and III clinical studies. The group has extensive experience in research pertaining to quality of life, clinical trials methodology and the economic analysis of cancer therapies. Members of this group participate in the clinical and educational activities of the Cancer Centre and are a willing resource for residents.

Kingston General Hospital

Kingston General Hospital (KGH) is a community of people dedicated to transforming the patient and family experience through innovative and collaborative approaches to care, knowledge, and leadership. As southeastern Ontario’s leading centre for complex-acute and specialty care, KGH serves almost 500,000 regional residents through its Kingston facility and 24 regional affiliate and satellite sites. Fully affiliated with Queen’s University, KGH was named as one of Canada’s top research hospitals in 2011.

Patients with oncologic conditions requiring hospital admission are admitted to the Hematology Oncology service at KGH. This is a joint service that provides care for patients with both hematological and oncologic conditions. The unit consists of thirteen beds and is supervised by an attending physician from one of the above specialties. The primary care of patients is shared by residents, a General Practitioner in Oncology, and attending staff. Residents are involved in inpatient care throughout the year as well as during their Junior Attending rotation and when on call.

Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario

The Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario (CCSEO) is a world-class facility and many of its cancer specialists are recognized internationally for their expertise in cancer treatment and research. It is also an academic cancer centre, housing the Department of Oncology and playing a vital role in educating tomorrow’s health professionals.

A major redevelopment of the CCSEO was completed in 2011. Its facilities were modernized and an additional 37,000 square feet was added to improve the patient and caregiver experience. Two new radiation treatment bunkers have been added, an HDR brachytherapy suite has been built, and the chemotherapy space has been increased from 15 treatment spaces to 39. Dedicated space for children with cancer was also created, in addition to separate areas for its palliative medicine and supportive care program.

Information for Off-Service Residents

Welcome to the Division of Medical Oncology. We hope you enjoy your block rotation with us. Please feel free to discuss any pertinent issues with any of our staff or our Chief Resident.
A copy of your schedule will be sent to you by email prior to your start date. Post call dates, IM resident clinics and confirmed absences through your home program will be included in this schedule. Should there be any discrepancies, please let our Academic Program Coordinator know.

If you will be away or on call (and it's not already indicated on your schedule) Please let the staff you are working with know and the Academic Program Coordinator, Mallory Walker know immediately.

Please be advised that email correspondence will be done using your KGH account and not Queen’s. Physicians may need to relay patient information and this can only be done using your KGH account. Please check it frequently.

About the rotation

Your rotation will consist of of a mixture of treatment, follow-up and consults clinics. Trainees are involved in the assessment of patients and the development of an appropriate management and treatment plan.

You may also be asked to share the responsibility of the Chemo Emergency pager. Although the primary responsibility for this will usually be with the MO residents, your help may sometimes be requested. This provides the additional educational opportunities of attending and managing urgencies/emergencies in the Chemotherapy Unit. If you are paged to the chemotherapy suite, your urgent attendance is required. The most common reason for being paged is a drug reaction (it is a good idea to read up on infusion/hypersensitivity reactions and treatment) but there are other medical emergencies (such as chest pain, shortness of breath etc) that also occur. You will not be alone and the attending staff physician will also be called at the same time. It is your responsibility to respond to pages promptly and proceed to the chemotherapy suite urgently. If you are in clinic with another physician, please notify them that you have been paged and will leave clinic.

Evaluations

Your evaluation will consist of feedback from each preceptor. Once finalized, it will be discussed with you by the medical oncologists that you've spent the most time with (in your intro) and submitted electronically through the Web-Eval system. Please arrange a suitable time for you both to meet to discuss your evaluation. For the mini-CEX evaluation, YOU MUST INFORM YOUR EVALUATOR AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CLINIC THAT YOU WOULD LIKE THEM TO OBSERVE AND COMPLETE THE EVALUATION. Otherwise, it will not be done.

Together with your staff attending, it is your responsibility to ensure that your evaluation and mini-CEX are completed. At the start of the rotation, please contact the physicians responsible for your evaluations to ensure a mutually convenient time is scheduled to do this. THIS IS CRITICAL - NOT ONLY FOR YOUR TRAINING BUT FOR FULFILLING YOUR PROGRAM'S MANDATE.

In addition, an end-of-rotation evaluation from you is equally important in order for us to make any necessary improvements to the rotation. One will be sent to you through the Wed-Eval system from your Program Administrator. Please complete and submit within 1 week of completing your rotation.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Mallory Walker at oncedcoord@kingstonhsc.ca

If you are interested in observing a Medical Oncology clinic, please fill out this request form:

Request to Observe Clinic in Oncology