Educational Resources for Hematology/Oncology Fellows

Starting a fellowship program in hematology and oncology can be exciting but nerve-wracking. It represents the beginning of a challenging journey in which trainees will need to learn a substantial amount of information and skills. Taking care of patients with cancer and blood disorders is unique. In this post, we will focus on the educational aspect of that fellowship journey, describing the educational resources that trainees, particularly first-year fellows, can use to learn more about hematology and oncology.

We will describe several educational resources divided into multiple groups. Please, use the following table of contents to jump to a particular topic of interest.

Table of contents:

Websites and Databases

Several websites and databases can be used for studying. Here are some suggestions of resources to consider:

National Comprehensive Care Network (NCCN) Guidelines

One of the most important resources to become familiar with is the NCCN guidelines website. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is a not-for-profit alliance of 32 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. These guidelines are recognized as essential guidelines to follow when treating patients with cancer. However, it can be challenging to get used to and understand these documents. Although the recommendation for trainees would be to start using these guidelines from day one to get familiar with them, they are not the most effective way to learn the basic information a trainee needs to learn at the beginning of training. Something that is often missed is the educational material contained at the end of the algorithmic-based guidelines that most of us review. That educational material is found in a more reader-friendly format and is easier to understand than the rest of the guidelines. Make sure to check them up.

American Society of Hematology (ASH)

The American Society of Hematology website is an incredible resource for information. It includes comprehensive information for career development, research, future meetings and conferences, and more. The “Education” section includes guidelines, online courses, webinars, question-based learning, webcasts, and other interesting activities. Besides all of those resources, two relevant ones are highly recommended for trainees to be used from day one:

ASH Self-Assessment Program (SAP)

According to ASH, “the American Society of Hematology Self-Assessment Program (ASH-SAP), Eighth Edition is a comprehensive resource to help hematologists stay current with the latest advances in adult and pediatric hematology. Includes the online textbook, plus six tests featuring 75 CME/MOC credits.”

The ASH SAP is a fantastic resource to include in your study plans. It includes multiple chapters covering both nonmalignant and malignant disorders. It includes illustrations, graphics, key points, animations, a glossary, and 259 multiple-choice questions. Fellowship programs may cover the ASH SAP.

Hematology Review Series

The ASH Hematology Review Series is one of the best resources for clinical practice and preparation for board exams. The series is aired with two to three episodes in the Summer (usually between July and October) and is presented by subject matter experts. Furthermore, there are live study sessions to discuss board exam questions and clarifications from the course. Finally, after the sessions, the videos are available on-demand on the ASH website for future review. Overall, the series is an amazing resource and highly recommended for all trainees.

The ASH Hematology Review Series is designed for fellows preparing to take the internal medicine hematology certification exam or those desiring a comprehensive update of hematology standards of care. This series provides a free review of hematology patterned after the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Certification Examination Blueprint.

American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) provides multiple educational resources including guidelines, courses, meetings and conferences, multimedia resources, and much more. Focusing on educational resources, there is a highly recommended one for trainees which is the ASCO Self-Evaluation Program (ASCO SEP).

ASCO Self-Evaluation Program (SEP)

The ASCO SEP program is a comprehensive tool that provides digital chapters with information written, edited, and peer-reviewed by oncology experts. It is a subscription usually available to oncology trainees. The ASCO SEP includes written chapters, chapter questions, and additional resources including videos and illustrations. Besides chapter questions, there is a Q-bank available as well. The digital book is also available for desktop and mobile, allowing you to pick up where you left off in a chapter and keep track of your learning using bookmarks and notes. It can also be read offline using the ASCO eBooks App (available in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store). Finally, the content in the ASCO SEP seems easier to understand than other materials making it one of the best resources to use early in training.

UpToDate

The well-known UpToDate database website is widely used across multiple medical specialties. It is a great point-of-care medical resource in hematology and oncology. Reading a chapter in UpToDate on a particular condition can be easier to understand and follow for trainees. Chapters include tables, algorithms, and other multimedia resources that provide an easier way to learn the information. Most healthcare institutions provide access to UpToDate to their trainees. Most attendings use UpToDate even though it is advisable to complement it with other sources of information.

Dynamed Plus

Like UpToDate, Dynamed Plus is an evidence-based database that covers most topics in hematology and oncology. The ” Overview and Recommendations” section in each chapter of Dynamed Plus is well organized and more extensive than UpToDate. However, it does not take too long to review this section when needing to review a topic quickly. In Dynamed Plus, evidence of trials and guidelines is described more than in UpToDate, including short summaries of the trials that are useful.

Books

Although we live in a more digital era nowadays, some trainees still prefer using books for their studying. Hematology and Oncology are areas with advances happening every day but books still include important principles and concepts to learn. Most of these books are available as e-books and paperback. Here is a list of some of the most popular books:

Hematology Books

• Williams Manual of Hematology, Ninth Edition 9th Edition.
• Clinical Hematology Atlas 5th Edition by Bernadette F. Rodak.
• The Washington Manual Hematology and Oncology Subspecialty Consult (Lippincott Manual Series).
• The Bethesda Handbook of Clinical Hematology 3rd Edition.

Oncology Books

• Abeloff’s Clinical Oncology 6th Edition
• DeVita, Hellman, and Rosenberg’s Cancer: Principles & Practice of Oncology (Cancer Principles and Practice of Oncology)
• Holland-Frei Cancer Medicine 8th Edition (Cancer Medicine)
• The American Cancer Society’s Oncology in Practice: Clinical Management

Q-Bank Resources

Besides the questions and assessments that are included in the ASH SAP and the ASCO SEP programs (mentioned above), these are some of the resources to consider:

Hemeoncquestions.com

The hemeoncquestions.com website was created by Dr. Ravin Garg who is an Assistant Professor in Oncology at Johns Hopkins Hospital. It contains 2500+ questions in both hematology and oncology with high-yield topics for the boards. It requires a subscription although it is quite affordable. Although it is mostly used for board preparation, it is extremely helpful to use it early in training as a complementary tool to our educational materials, helping one to apply the concepts to a clinical scenario.

MDEdge Hematology/Oncology

The MDEdge website includes a section called “Board Review Questions” with multiple quizzes in both specialties and classified by topics. Access to these questions is free and can be a complementary resource to our study plans.

Multimedia Resources

There are many different multimedia resources to consider for hematology and oncology education. We can divide those into video and audio options.

Video Resources

Besides the video sources already mentioned above including the ASH Hematology Review Series and ASCO SEP, there are several other options if you like to watch videos when studying.

YouTube Channels

YouTube is a fantastic and underutilized resource for education in hematology and oncology. There are hundreds of channels with conference presentations, lectures, board reviews, expert interviews, and more. One of the not-fully exploited videos is those directed to patients for education in which their disease is explained more in detail. One can be amazed by how much information patients receive during these conferences and the amount of medical information discussed. This can be incredibly useful for first-year fellows to understand more than the medical aspect of patient care and hear about important information such as chemotherapy schedules and logistics, how medicines are administered, side effects of medications, etc. Take advantage of those presentations although they may seem too simple initially because there is a lot to learn. Keywords such as conference, webinar, or lecture can help filter the most useful videos.

Some of the recommended channels to follow are:

• American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
• American Society of Hematology (ASH)
• Cancer Research Institute
• Peer Review Oncology

MD Anderson Hematology/Oncology Board Review Course

The MD Anderson Hematology/Oncology Board Review Course is comprehensive and designed for medical hematologists and oncologists, and other healthcare providers in the field of hematology and oncology. This course will effectively prepare participants to certify or re-certify in ABIM examinations in hematology and medical oncology and update participants on current standards of care for patients with blood disorders and malignancies. The course does have a cost and there is an on-demand option as well.

Another popular option is the George Washington Board Review Course.

Audio Resources

Podcasts

Podcasts are a great way to study and review topics, particularly during your commute to work. Podcasts are readily available on multiple platforms, particularly Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and others. Here are some of the recommended shows:

• ASCO Education
• Blood Podcast
• ASCO Journal of Clinical Oncology
• Two Onc Docs (one of the best choices for trainees and board review preparation with concise topics with high-yield information. The show is amazing!)
• The Fellow on Call

Mobile Applications

There are some mobile applications to consider having in your smartphone or tablet during fellowship training and practice:

• ASCO eBooks: you can access your products like the ASCO SEP here.
• ASH Pocket Guides: have the ASH guidelines always available on your hand.
• MDCalc: includes scoring systems, prognostic tools, and others that are useful in your daily activities. One example of a prognostic tool included is the Revised International Prognostic Index (R-IPI) for diffuse large B cell lymphoma.
• NCCN guidelines: available in both smartphones and tablets. You can download the guidelines for offline access.
• UpToDate
• Dynamed Plus
• Lexicomp (drug reference)
• Journal Club: it includes landmark research studies nicely summarized for review.
• HemeOncBuddy: similar to Journal Club, it includes information on some of the most relevant clinical trials in hematology and oncology.

Conferences/Meetings

Although not a resource one can use every day, conferences and meetings provide updates and education in both hematology and oncology. Make sure to include them in your calendar and try to attend to them during your training. The two major conferences are the ASCO and the ASH annual meetings. There are other meetings that occur depenidng on the area of interest. We will dedicate a separate post to conferences and meetings with an interest in identifying important deadlines for submissions and dates of the confereces.

Social Media

Yes! Social media has become an increasingly popular source of information. Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter are the most relevant ones. Multiple organizations such as ASCO, ASH, and many others have official acounts. From those platforms, Twitter is the flagship. Many world-reknown experts have Twitter accounts and share interesting data regarding new trials, medication approvals, updates, and others. An interesting post type are the “Tweetorials” which are series of posts on Twitter that review a particular topic or subject. If you do not use Twitter, this may be a good reason to check it up.

Finally, your co-fellows, attendings, and staff members in your training programs are invaluable sources of information from which to learn and model. We hope this post was helpful. Please, leave your comments below if you have any suggestions of what to add to this publication.