A Guide to Interviewing for Hematology/Oncology Fellowship From a Chief Fellow

Interviewing for a hematology/oncology fellowship, much like interviewing for anything else, is simultaneously exciting and nerve-wracking. In many ways, it’s similar to interviewing for internal medicine residency, with geography, rigor of clinical training, and hospital/program culture as important factors to consider. For me, the key difference between residency and fellowship is that they serve fundamentally different purposes in the continuum of your medical training. Here are some thoughts on how to approach your hematology/oncology interviews to ascertain whether the program is a good fit for you.

1. Understand the mission statement of the fellowship and whether that mission aligns with your career goals

The first step of this process requires a bit of honest self-reflection. You’ve made it through a tough 3 years of internal medicine residency that undoubtedly challenged you as a physician and person. Perhaps you’ve found patient care to be the most fulfilling aspect, or you’ve rediscovered an interest in scientific research. Medicine is, without doubt, a marathon, and understanding what aspects of the job you find fulfilling is a must to avoid burnout and unfulfillment.

The next step is to understand the program’s mission statement. Although internal medicine residencies have specific tracks for primary care or clinical investigation, hematology/oncology fellowships may also have specific, focused curricula to develop trainees. Some programs place a stronger emphasis on laboratory-based research, whereas others may have pipeline programs in collaboration with industry partners for drug development. Looking up fellows who have graduated from a particular program can also give insight into the types of careers that the program prepares its fellows for.

2. Clearly identify potential mentors for career development, both within your disease of interest and outside of it

In my experience, mentorship is the most critical component of fellowship training. Beyond providing clinical guidance, mentors are essential in facilitating access to professional networks, research collaborations, and opportunities to attend and present work at local, national, and international conferences. Similar to the above, identifying potential mentors first requires understanding what type of mentor and mentorship style brings out the best version of yourself. Finding the right balance among accessibility, autonomy, and communication style, among other things, is a dynamic process, but it starts with knowing what works for you.

When I was searching for potential mentors, I began by consulting disease-specific faculty listings on hospital websites. I would review the faculty members’ research interests and conduct a broader search to find interviews at conferences, their community engagement, and involvement in professional organizations that interest me, such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology and European Society for Medical Oncology. After identifying potential mentors, I reached out to the program coordinator to request them as interviewers or for follow-up interviews if they were not available.

3. Approach the interview day as an opportunity to learn

Remember, you are interviewing the program just as much as they are interviewing you. The most important thing to remember when approaching the interview day is that this is not a test. There are no correct or incorrect answers. Although I believe programs have a clear idea of the type of candidate they are most interested in, the goal of interview day for both the candidate and the program is the same: to find a good fit.

What a good fit means is unique to the individual, but interviews are the best opportunity to gain genuine insight into the fellowship program and the hospital as a whole. Ask the questions that matter to you, whether they’re about support from leadership or expectations for the research year. Ask about opportunities to pursue research that aligns with your interests, whether they are basic science, translational, clinical, or other. After the interview day, there’s typically an opportunity to meet some of the fellows. Are they happy? Do they feel supported? Remember, just as it’s important for you to find a program that supports you, the program is similarly interested in finding fellows who are invested in their program.

To sum things up, consider your medical journey as a story. Perhaps it is a story of scholarly pursuits, perhaps it is a story of improving accessibility and affordability of medical care. Perhaps it has a little bit of everything. Throughout the journey, you’ve acquired knowledge and developed skills that have aided you. What is your story, and what is the next chapter of that story? If, after answering the first question, you feel that matching at a certain program will naturally write the next chapter of your story, then I think you’ve found a good fit.