Outpatient US Clinical Experience in Hematology & Oncology in Miami

Information about this clinical experience:

This is an outpatient experience during which you will be under the supervision of a highly regarded physician who is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Hematology & Oncology. The preceptor is the Chief of Staff at Northwest Medical Center and also on staff at several other hospitals, including Coral Springs Medical Center, HCA Woodmont Hospital, and Florida Medical Center.

At 7:15 AM, the preceptor typically meets with colleagues in the office to discuss interesting cases. Rotators are welcome to join this meeting to see how established experts in the field collaborate with one another and lean on each other's expertise to provide the highest quality of care. If the rotator is interested in presenting a case during this meeting, please indicate your interest to the preceptor. This can be an excellent way to hone presentation skills that you will be expected to call upon as a resident.

Following this, you will see patients in the office with a variety of solid tumors, leukemias, and lymphomas. Other hematologic disorders will also be encountered, including anemia. There will be a combination of new patient evaluations and follow-ups. This preceptor is a strong proponent of reviewing studies done on patients independently rather than relying on the report alone. What this means is that you will be reviewing imaging and hematologic studies, including peripheral blood smears and bone marrow biopies, in the office.

This rotation is ideal for the motivated learner who wants to make the most of the experience by asking questions. The preceptor urges rotators to ask questions so that the doctor can share teaching points geared to the student's interest and fill in gaps in knowledge. Students should be ready to ask lots of questions.

Rotators may be able to observe procedures in the clinic such as bone marrow biopsies. Infusion therapy is also administered in the clinic for such conditions as cancer, inflammatory conditions, and bleeding disorders.

During your experience, you will learn the following U.S. medical practices under the preceptor’s supervision:

• Taking patient histories.

• Examining patients under supervision.

• Presenting patients.

• Have opportunities to research the literature to answer clinical questions at the point of care.

• Spending time with other healthcare professionals to understand their roles and responsibilities.

Please note that there is clinical research taking place in this practice in the form of clinical trials. Rotators interested in seeing how such studies are conducted should express an interest in doing so to the preceptor early in the rotation.