Our Fellowship Program
The Gynecologic Oncology Fellowship Program at city Medical Center is one of the oldest fellowship programs in the country, graduating its first fellow in 1967. The program is currently fully accredited by ACGME.
The primary goal of this fellowship program is to train competent surgeons and caring physicians who will serve and treat women with gynecological malignancies. These graduates are also expected to be dedicated educators and future clinician-scientists who will further propagate the knowledge and interest in this field.
Over the past half century, this program has made significant contributions to Gynecologic Oncology. This tradition will be continued through the devotion of the faculty and of the graduates.
Surgery
The fellowship training program is designed to teach comprehensive surgical skills in radical open gynecologic oncology surgery, which includes pelvic, abdominal and vaginal procedures, and also utilization of laparoscopic and robotic surgery in Gynecologic Oncology. The program provides extensive surgical experience encompassing all procedural aspects of radical gynecologic oncology surgery [including radical hysterectomy, radical vulvectomy, pelvic, paraaortic, and inguinal lymph node dissection, tumor debulking, pelvic exenteration with vaginal reconstruction, all aspects of bowel surgery (including small and large bowel resection, creation of a colostomy, low anterior resection), and urinary tract surgery including urinary diversion (continent and incontinent conduits)]. Fellows are also educated in the identification and management of complications of radical surgery. The overall goal is to graduate excellent Gynecologic Oncology surgeons capable of performing the above procedures independently.
Pathology
The fellowship program provides the fellows with a comprehensive educational program in gynecologic pathology. Faculty members of the Department of Pathology at SUNY city Medical Center participate in weekly Tumor Board meetings and are available for consultation. The Department of Pathology at each site participating in the fellowship program is available for consultation as/when needed.
Chemotherapy
Graduates of the program are trained extensively in various chemotherapeutic regimens, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and their respective complications. The fellowship program actively participates in current NRG protocols, Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) Foundation trials, various pharmaceutical company-sponsored studies, and internal protocols/clinical trials in collaboration with several clinical departments, including the Department of Pathology, Radiation Oncology, and psychiatry, etc. In addition, the fellows, through collaboration with the Division of Medical Oncology, are further exposed to all aspects of application and complications of chemotherapy and targeted therapy in patients with solid tumors. Overall, these in-depth exposures continuously provide fellows with knowledge regarding novel therapeutic regimens, which results in proficiency in the independent administration of immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and cytotoxic chemotherapeutic regimens to women with gynecologic malignancies.
Radiotherapy
Fellows are taught principles of radiation biology and physics, mechanisms of action, application techniques, and complications of radiotherapy by faculty members of the Department of Radiation Oncology at city Medical Center and Maimonides Medical Center. The learning of Radiation Oncology is through both didactic lectures and clinical rotation with hands-on experience.
Clinical Training
We aim to provide the fellows in Gynecologic Oncology with comprehensive knowledge pertaining to the diagnosis, pathophysiology, and management of patients with gynecologic malignancies and complications of various treatment modalities. In addition, the Fellowship is designed to provide graduates with the knowledge to independently design and conduct basic science, translational, and clinicalo research.