August 1 will mark the debut of a new fellowship in the University of Colorado Anschutz Department of Surgery — a one-year breast surgical oncology fellowship, overseen by Nicole Christian, MD, associate professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology. The fellowship is the only one of its kind between St. Louis and California.
“As breast surgical oncology has gotten more complicated, the value of specialty training in a breast fellowship, even if somebody plans on doing general surgery with a breast emphasis, is being increasingly recognized,” Christian says. “When I think about the complexity of care in breast oncology, which is a multidisciplinary service, having people who really understand multidisciplinary care can elevate the care wherever our fellow goes to practice.”
Future fellows will be selected through the match process, but due to the timing of the match, the first breast surgical oncology fellow at CU — Yemisi Oyeleke, MD, who just finished residency at Central Michigan University — was selected outside of the match.
"I am honored to be the inaugural breast surgical oncology fellow at the University of Colorado," Oyeleke says. "Joining a new fellowship at an institution known for excellence in clinical care, research, and education is an exciting opportunity. I’m excited to be part of building a program that will shape the future of breast surgical oncology at the institution. I look forward to learning from outstanding mentors and establishing a strong foundation for the fellowship program while advancing my skills to better serve patients with breast cancer."
“Yemisi is an energetic, flexible surgeon who's excited about the fact that we're all going to be learning together during this first year of the fellowship,” Christian says. “She's interested in a job where she's able to practice both general surgery and breast surgical oncology. We were impressed by her attitude and her work ethic, and we thought that she would be a great fit.”
Christian describes the fellowship as a multidisciplinary educational experience that requires time conducting research and engaging in community service, in addition to clinical training in radiology, radiation oncology, medical oncology, plastic surgery, physical therapy, and more.
“We have some flexibility in the rotations if there are techniques and skills that the fellow is particularly interested in learning and being able to do more independently,” she says. “The fellow also will have an independent clinic where they see benign and low-risk breast disease, so that they are able to identify how they want to run their own clinical practice and work on professional identity formation. We want our fellows to be able to be independent practitioners when they graduate fellowship.”
Christian says she is excited about attracting fellowship candidates who are interested in giving back to the community, possibly trainees who want to practice in regional or rural areas where well-trained breast surgeons aren’t as prevalent.
“It's a really great opportunity for us to be able to train a future colleague and breast surgeon,” she says. “The fellowship itself speaks to the strength of cancer care at the University of Colorado and the Department of Surgery, and the way we are growing our national profile and leadership in education.”
Featured image: New breast surgical oncology fellow Yemisi Oyeleke, MD.