Testimonies

Here is what some Hematology and Oncology fellows had to said about why they choose this fellowship program.

Jacquelyn Powers, M.D., M.S. Class of 2015

Jacquelyn Powers, M.D., M.S., class of 2015

“I chose the fellowship program there because of the breadth of exposure to conditions across both hematology & oncology, diversity of the patient population, and the size of the program (busy enough to get a lot of hands-on, experiential learning but small enough that I was able to get to know most of the attendings well). A big strength of the program is the patient-ownership that is given to the fellows starting within the first year. This includes coming in on call to meet a family and tell them their child has cancer, then giving the consent talk for therapy, performing the initial diagnostic procedures (marrow, tap), and then continuing to follow them in outpatient clinic as a primary patient through the course of their therapy. On a related note, the fellows are given a good amount of autonomy in following their patients, which strengthens the patient-physician relationship.“
Kathleen Ludwig, M.D. Class of 2015

Kathleen Ludwig, M.D., Class of 2015

“I chose to do my pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship at UTSW because I knew that I would get a well-rounded training experience both in clinical medicine and research. UTSW/CMC offers a very large clinical volume which allows fellows to gain expertise in the common and rare hematology/oncology diagnosis. After completing training here, I can confidently diagnose and treat both the bread and butter, as well as rare diagnosis, which step foot in our center. Additionally, our north campus offers a large variety of laboratories which provide fantastic research opportunity both at the bench and translationally.“
Julia Meade, M.D. Class of 2017

Julia Meade, M.D., Class of 2017

“I chose to pursue my fellowship at UT Southwestern because the program trains physicians with strengths in hematology, oncology, clinical medicine and research – you never know where your post-fellowship path will take you and I felt like my training at UT Southwestern gave me many options because I developed strengths in multiple areas of the field!“
Neethu Menon, M.D. Class of 2018

Neethu Menon, M.D., Class of 2018

“I chose fellowship here because of the strong academic support system (through UTSW as well as the free standing children's hospital), well-balanced exposure to hematology/oncology/stem cell transplant, and the enthusiastic interactions and friendly work environment I observed during my interviews.“
Chelsee Greer, D.O. Class of 2022

Chelsee Greer, D.O., Class of 2022

“I chose fellowship at UTSW because I knew that the program had the patient numbers to ensure I would receive a robust and diverse training while having smaller faculty numbers allowing for more personalized mentorship. The environment is one of support and positivity.“
Zoe O'Connor, M.D. Class of 2023

Zoe O'Connor, M.D., Class of 2023

“I chose the program at UTSW because of the wide range of opportunities that were available, both in the clinical and the research realm. I felt that the patient volume and diversity from the vast DFW metroplex would provide ample clinical training, and the academic rigor of UTSW would provide many options for a meaningful research project in my second and third year.“
Gabriella Nguyen, M.D. Class of 2024

Gabriella Nguyen, M.D., Class of 2024

“lt was easy to choose this program because of the faculty that make this program great. Finding valuable mentorship was always a priority to me and every faculty member I met I could see being a mentor to me in their own way.“

Strengths of the program per previous fellows:

Exposure to diverse patient populations with unique clinical needs
Busy on both the oncology and hematology side that creates a well-rounded learning experience
Vast research opportunities across multiple sites; in addition to the children's hospital, there is great potential for collaboration through other sites that are a part of UTSW
Support system for learners: periodic discussions with fellows about the program, improvements based on feedback, close relationships between fellows/attendings/nurses/APPS/other team members, and easy accessibility to other team members and even outside teams with a robust paging system really created a very supportive environment for learning
Relatively small faculty size despite the large clinical volume. Because of this, the attendings are knowledgeable in their disease-specific expertise yet remain approachable and responsive. This creates a perfect balance of training, mentoring, and support without feeling isolated or lost
Collegial atmosphere that makes collaboration not only feasible but enjoyable which also creates a supportive environment for the fellows
Fellow learning and professional development are priorities. Faculty provide strong mentorship
Great fellow autonomy over their patients