College of Veterinary Medicine

Objectives | Clinical Service Responsibilities | Teaching Responsibilities | Educational Opportunities | Research & Scholarly Activity

The Oncology/Hematology Service offers a residency program in Clinical Oncology that provides advanced clinical training and specialization in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of small animals under the supervision of board-certified specialists. Faculty are nationally and internationally recognized leaders in their respective fields. The standard program is a 3-year combined residency and graduate studies program leading to a Certificate of Residency and Master of Science (MS) degree.

Additional information

Objectives

The objectives of the program are for the resident to:

1. Develop comprehensive, state-of-the-art expertise and clinical proficiency in clinical oncology;
2. Satisfy the criteria necessary to qualify for Board Certification, and to prepare the resident for successful completion of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) Specialty Certification Examination (Oncology);
3. Prepare for future career goals of teaching, clinical research, scientific publication, or specialized practice; and,
4. Attain the Master of Science degree in a specific area of research.

Clinical Service responsibilities

Clinical Rotations

Program rotations are designed to insure development of clinical competence in a broad range of specialties. Residents rotate every 2 to 4 weeks among the clinical services within the Section of Small Animal Medicine including internal medicine, cardiology, and radiation oncology, but spend most of the time on medical oncology. Additional rotations through any of these areas or elective rotations through other areas such as dermatology, ophthalmology, clinical pathology, diagnostic imaging, pathology, anesthesiology, and surgery may be arranged during the 3-year program. Clinical rotations facilitate development of clinical proficiency, clinical skills, and knowledge of medicine through exposure to a wide variety of cases at all levels of complexity. Case management is carried out with the guidance and collaboration of experienced faculty who are recognized experts in their respective fields. State-of-the-art equipment and facilities are available to develop technical expertise in diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

Teaching responsibilities

Teaching

Teaching responsibilities include clinical teaching of senior and junior veterinary students assigned to the resident's ward or emergency service. Residents also participate in teaching small animal technical skills to junior veterinary students during laboratories. Interested residents will be given the opportunity to develop lecture skills by preparing and delivering selected formal classroom lectures to professional students.

Educational opportunities

Numerous specialty seminars, conferences, and journal clubs are available to residents. A required weekly clinicopathologic conference provides an opportunity for residents to enrich their clinical problem-solving skills. A comprehensive collection of graduate level courses in small animal medicine provides residents with relevant course material for partial fulfillment of the MS degree requirements.

Research and scholarly activity

• Original research or clinical investigation leading to scholarly publication is required. Considerable research and a thesis are required of residents in the 3-year combined program leading to the MS degree. To facilitate research opportunities, residents are given off-clinic rotations during which they are free from scheduled ward duties and clinical case responsibilities. This time is provided to allow pursuit of course work, independent study, research, thesis writing, publication, or other elective endeavors. The maximal time available for these activities is 9 months for residents in the 3-year combined residency and graduate studies program.
• Each resident must submit at least one scholarly paper to a refereed journal prior to completion of the residency program. Each resident must present at least one formal paper at a state or national veterinary meeting or to the small animal faculty prior to completion of their program. Residents in the graduate program are expected to prepare and submit their thesis research for publication