Pediatric hematology-oncology: Where do we go from here?

Abstract

High quality fellowship training programs represent a laudable yet difficult goal for all pediatric subspecialties. One important challenge is how to match current fellowship trainees with the perceived future need for trained subspecialists. In pediatric hematology-oncology, new data from the American Board of Pediatrics indicates that the supply side of this equation continues to evolve: the number of new fellows, particularly women and American Medical Graduates, has increased steadily over the past decade. With over 130 new fellows entering training each year, this is now the second largest pediatric subspecialty discipline.Not surprisingly, the demand side of the equation may also be changing. Widespread availability of public information and electronic data has led to increased institutional and public expectations for sub-sub-specialists. Many programs now advertise expertise in a variety of highly specific disease areas including brain tumors, sickle cell disease, stem cell transplantation, and hemostasis. Fellowship training programs must continue to evolve as well.The future of pediatric hematology-oncology, for both malignant and non-malignant disease, still seems bright. Critical workforce issues that require attention include changing demographics, especially the growing proportion of women entering the field, the need for flexibility such as part-time workers, the need to train sub-sub-specialists, and disparity in the distribution of certified pediatric hematologist-oncologists. High quality fellowship training programs represent a laudable yet difficult goal for all pediatric subspecialties. One important challenge is how to match current fellowship trainees with the perceived future need for trained subspecialists. In pediatric hematology-oncology, new data from the American Board of Pediatrics indicates that the supply side of this equation continues to evolve: the number of new fellows, particularly women and American Medical Graduates, has increased steadily over the past decade. With over 130 new fellows entering training each year, this is now the second largest pediatric subspecialty discipline. Not surprisingly, the demand side of the equation may also be changing. Widespread availability of public information and electronic data has led to increased institutional and public expectations for sub-sub-specialists. Many programs now advertise expertise in a variety of highly specific disease areas including brain tumors, sickle cell disease, stem cell transplantation, and hemostasis. Fellowship training programs must continue to evolve as well. The future of pediatric hematology-oncology, for both malignant and non-malignant disease, still seems bright. Critical workforce issues that require attention include changing demographics, especially the growing proportion of women entering the field, the need for flexibility such as part-time workers, the need to train sub-sub-specialists, and disparity in the distribution of certified pediatric hematologist-oncologists.