City of Hope will accept medical graduates into a new radiation oncology residency program beginning in 2009, department officials announced.
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the nation’s accrediting group for postmedical education, approved the program in July. It will be City of Hope’s first ACGME-accredited residency program.
 Jeffery Wong (Photo by Markie Ramirez) |
“We hope to attract top-level candidates interested in being leaders in the field, whether in the community or an academic setting,” said Jeffrey Wong, M.D., chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology.
City of Hope had previously had an affiliation agreement to host one resident every four months from the University of California, Irvine. Starting in July 2009, the Department of Radiation Oncology’s independent four-year program will welcome one new resident each year, reaching its full team of four residents in 2012.
“Our strategic plan has been and continues to be to serve as one of the leading radiation oncology programs in Southern California and to maintain our efforts as an academic program,” Wong said. In addition to clinical training, residents will be required to participate in clinical research activities.
Medical school graduates must vie for a limited number of radiation oncology residencies nationwide, and competition for residencies can be fierce. With City of Hope’s advanced equipment, recognized radiation oncologists and scientists, and construction on new facilities under way, Wong expects to see high-quality applicants.
“We will have a constellation of technologies that allow us to offer the highest level of care and a rich environment for research, which will be attractive for prospective residents,” he said. “Anatomic and functional image-guided radiation therapy and radioimmunotherapy will be a few of the technologies we’ll have that are available in only a few places around the country.”
Residents also will have the opportunity to interact with fellows and faculty in other oncology specialties at City of Hope through one month electives, conferences and tumor boards. Residents must complete at least a first year in another medical area such as internal medicine or pediatrics before beginning the radiation oncology residency.
The residency is part of the National Resident Matching Program, the standard vehicle for medical graduates to link with United States residency programs. Candidates for the 2009 position may apply through forms available on the City of Hope Web site (www.cityofhope.org/education), and applications are due Dec. 1. Organizers hope to participate in the national online Electronic Residency Application Service by 2010.
Richard D. Pezner, M.D., associate chair and professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology, will lead the program. Timothy Schultheiss, Ph.D., director of radiation physics, and Eric H. Radany, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of radiation oncology, will oversee instructive training in radiation physics and radiation biology, respectively. Phyllis Burch, Thalia Yaden and Pam Muccillo will provide administrative support, and Alexandra Levine, M.D., chief medical officer, was instrumental in the effort, Wong said.
