“Exploring the Phases of First-Year Hematology-Oncology Fellowship: A Qualitative Study.”
May 2026
Journal of Cancer Education
Sarah Brewer, PhD, MPA, Co-Director of the Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS) Training, Education, and Mentorship (TEaM) Core, Co-Chair of Colorado Ambulatory Partnership for Health Innovation and Research Excellence (CAMPHIRE), and Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at CU Anschutz, is a co-author of the article, “Exploring the Phases of First-Year Hematology-Oncology Fellowship: A Qualitative Study,” published in the Journal of Cancer Education.
Using interpretive phenomenological and practical thematic analysis, the study explored hematology-oncology fellows' experiences during their first year of fellowship, shedding light on the challenges of transitioning into new roles within subspecialty training.
From the article:
"Transitions to new roles requiring new clinical knowledge and responsibilities, along with professional identify formation, occur multiple times in medical training (e.g., medical student to intern or fellow to faculty). The importance of preparing medical students for residency is clear, illustrated by the implementation of 'Transition to Residency courses' in fourth-year medical students and training faculty educators as coaches for interns. While previous studies have explored the transition to residency and transition to faculty, there are few studies of the transition to fellowship, with most prior studies exploring transitions to subspecialties other than hematology-oncology. In hematology and oncology training, the vast number of disease subtypes and topics to learn, along with frequently evolving guidelines incorporating new drugs and novel scientific practice changing discoveries, make this a cognitively demanding subspecialty for new fellows. Limited exposure to hematology and oncology prior to fellowship compounds the preexisting challenges of transitioning to a new role.
This study aims to explore and describe fellows’ lived experiences during their first year as hematology-oncology physicians. By understanding the transition period, we can then identify areas of intervention to improve the transition including knowledge base, fellowship culture, and program supports that impact this time in training."
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