Georgetown University Hospital Breast Oncology Fellowship Program

Georgetown University Hospital Breast Oncology Fellowship Program

Washington, DC

Training Program Director: Marc E. Boisvert, MD

The Georgetown University Hospital Breast Oncology Fellowship provides a comprehensive experience using a multidisciplinary approach to patient management. This one-year surgical fellowship integrates diagnostic evaluation, surgical management and treatment planning for the breast cancer patient. Additionally, fellows will have the opportunity to manage patients with benign breast disease and those who may be at high-risk of developing breast cancer. Our program promotes the refinement of leadership skills and collaborative patient management, contributing to post-fellowship employment opportunities in a variety of practice settings.

MedStar Breast Health Program

The MedStar Breast Health Program operates sites across the Washington region, including at the two flagship tertiary centers, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and MedStar Washington Hospital Center.  MedStar has surgeons located at each of its five (5) acute care hospitals in the Washington area and at Medstar Lafayette Center in DC’s West End.

Facilities and Faculty

Fellows in the Georgetown University Hospital Breast Oncology Fellowship will rotate between an academic medical center (MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, MGUH) and large tertiary teaching hospital (MedStar Washington Hospital Center, MWHC).

The philosophical approach of the Georgetown University Breast Oncology Fellowship is one of focused multidisciplinary breast care management.  Between the two sites, fellows will have exposure to a diverse patient population and multiple subspecialty experts in the field. Fellows will participate in the Multidisciplinary Oncologic Consultative Service (MOCS) with breast surgeons, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, oncology nurse navigator, research coordinators and cancer physiatrists.

Our faculty members are well-known leaders in the management and treatment of breast disease and cancer and are leaders in the arena of clinical research in cancer care.

Conferences and Rotations

Breast Fellows will spend six (6) months at each location, permitting broad interaction with the multiple disciplines that comprise the regional program. In addition to extensive and varied surgical experience, fellows will have substantial exposure to breast imaging techniques and interpretation, mammography, ultrasound and image-guided biopsy using wire localization. The fellows will also have rotations in Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Pathology, Cancer Rehabilitation, and Genetics.

The fellows are required to participate in the ASBrS didactic series as well as lectures by our interdisciplinary faculty to build an excellent fund of knowledge for the treatment of benign and malignant breast disease.

Journal club meets monthly to survey the current breast disease literature.

In collaboration with attending surgeons, fellows will lead the weekly multidisciplinary breast conference, working closely with team members to present and review cases prospectively

Teaching and Training

Fellows will have a central, enriching role in fulfilling the teaching missions of MWHC and MGUH, through educating surgical residents, interns and rotating medical students. They will have the opportunity to participate in community outreach events on topics of breast health, breast cancer prevention and treatment.

Research

MedStar Georgetown Cancer Network has active clinical research programs and participates in cooperative group trials through NSABP, ALLIANCE, ECOG, RTOG, as well as in-house investigator and pharma-initiated trials. The fellows are encouraged to participate in clinical research.  The program expectation is that each fellow will present at least two clinical papers/posters during the year. In the past our fellows have presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBS), the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Application and Eligibility

Applicants must have completed residency training in general surgery and be eligible to sit for the examination of the American Board of Surgery. In addition to the application instructions supplied by SSO, MedStar also requires the following documentation according to ACGME guidelines: