HEMATOLOGY

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Department of Medicine

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OverviewThe Hematology program at Queen’s University is a rigorous two-year residency program focusing onthe nature, function, and diseases of the blood. It is an intellectually stimulating specialty offering anideal combination of clinical medicine, pathology,and the use of sophisticated technology to makespecific diagnoses and treat illnesses.

Our residents graduate as highly-regarded specialistsand go on practice in a wide variety of settingsincluding academic health science centres, communityhospitals, and private clinics.

The curriculum is offered over thirteen four-weekblocks each year. In the first year of the program,residents split their time between clinical hematology

(clinics, ward, and consults) and hematopathology. A research block is also provided. The second yearincludes further rotations in clinical hematology andhematopathology, in addition to rotations in PediatricHematology, Community Hematology, AllogeneicStem Cell Transplantation, and three elective blocks.

A weekly half-day resident clinic runs continuouslyacross both years concurrent with other rotations.Residents see patients who are followed longitudinally,in addition to following-up with discharged inpatientsseen by other residents on the Consult or Wardservice. Like all other Kingston rotations, it is basedat Kingston General Hospital (kgh) and is easilyintegrated into the weekly routine.

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Curriculum

Block PGY4 Rotations

1Hematology Ward

ResidentClinic

2

3Clinics

Selective

4

5

6

Lab: Morphology, Flow Cytometry,Hemostasis/Transfusion

Elective

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8

9

10

11 Research

12Inpatient Consults

13

Block PGY5 Rotations

1Elective

ResidentClinic

2

3 Community Hematology

4 Pediatric Hematology

5 Allogeneic Stem CellTransplantation6

7Junior Attending

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9 Consults

10 Clinics

Ward11

12Lab Morphology/Consolidation

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Please note: the order of rotations may vary.

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Conferences All Hematology residents are provided with fullfunding to attend the annual meeting of theAmerican Society of Hematology (ash) and theNational Hematology Resident Retreat. If a resident is presenting at another conference, additionalfunding may also be available. Locally, our residentsattend the Queen’sConference on Academic ResidencyEducation (qcare) for senior residents. It includesworkshops on practice management and a mock trialinvolving physician negligence and liability.

ResearchResearch is a major strength of our program and we recognize that scholarly activity is an importantmeans for residents to advance their career goals.Residents are provided with a protected researchblock in their first year, in addition to a further twoblocks of electives in the second year that can alsobe used for research purposes. After meeting withboth the Research Director and Program Director,residents will initiate a research project and will be expected to present at a local, national, orinternational research forum. Regular teachingsessions in research methodology, epidemiology,and biostatics are provided, and residents may also apply for admission to the rcpsc-accreditedClinician Investigator Program at Queen’s.

The Division of Hematology at Queen’s is a leadingcentre for hemostasis research. The MolecularHemostasis Laboratory utilizes a variety ofexperimental approaches to understand themolecular basis of blood coagulation and developsstrategies to translate this knowledge into clinicalbenefits. Its Principal Investigators were winners ofthe National Hemophillia Foundation’s ‘Researchersof the Year Award of Excellence’ in 2011.

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Educational ActivitiesAll residents attend weekly academic half-days.These generally include pathology and clinicalpresentations by faculty members, and residents also present on a monthly basis. There are weeklyrounds during which residents present cases, and a bi-weekly Journal Club provides an opportunity for articles to be presented, critiqued, and discussed.Other educational activities include Hematology

and Hematopathology case seminars, Lymphomahistology and conferences, monthly Transfusionrounds presented via video conference from Toronto,and an epidemiology series of informal sessions onclinical trials methodology and critical appraisal.Each spring, there is a mock Royal College-styleexamination at Queen’s consisting of a morphologyexam and oral exam.

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Training SitesThe Division of Hematology is based at KingstonGeneral Hospital (kgh), southeastern Ontario’sleading centre for complex-acute and specialty careand home to the Cancer Centre of SoutheasternOntario. kgh serves almost 500,000 people throughits Kingston facility and 24 regional affiliate andsatellite sites. kgh was ranked in 2011 as one ofCanada’s Top 40 Research Hospitals by ResearchInfosource.

In addition to their Kingston experience, residentscomplete mandatory rotations in different centres.Two rotations in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantationoccur at either Ottawa General Hospital or PrincessMargaret Hospital in Toronto, or at another suitablecentre if required. The rotation in PediatricHematology occurs at the Hospital for Sick Childrenin Toronto. Residents also complete a CommunityHematology rotation in Kitchener, providing themwith a unique opportunity to manage acute myeloidleukemia in a community hospital and furtherdeveloping resident hematology consultancy skills.

Learning EnvironmentOne of the best features of Hematology at Queen’sis the learning environment. The core teachingfaculty of our program is a small group of friendlyHematologists and Hematopathologists who workextremely well together. Residents and faculty get to know each other well, and the resultingrelationship is more collegial than hierarchical. The Hematopathologists also provide excellent one-on-one teaching at the microscope in the laboratory.

Training in our program is further enhanced by ourlocation in Kingston. In addition to a full academiccurriculum, there is plenty of patient volume. As there are only a few community hematologists in the area, residents see a full spectrum of referralsfrom common primary care hematologic problems to more complex tertiary care problems. Residentsare based at kgh when they are in Kingston and donot miss any learning opportunities as all tertiarycare hematology cases come to kgh. The hospitalcovers all aspects of Adult Hematology with theexception of allogeneic transplant. This, along withPediatric Hematology, is done in Toronto or Ottawa.

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Resident Clinic: New patient consults and longitudinalfollow-up is easily integrated into the schedule.

Kingston: Good patient volume, all of which isdirected to kgh meaning that there are no missedlearning opportunities.

Community Hematology: This highly successful rotationin Kitchener hones consultancy skills and is valuablewhether a community or academic practice is pursuedafter residency.

Why Hematology at Queen’s?Learning Environment: Collegiality, not hierarchy.Residents are an integral part of the Division and everyone benefits from the resulting positiveenvironment.

Faculty: Award-winning Hematologists andHematopathologists who are dedicated to the success of their residents.

Research: A strong research environment, especiallyin the areas of hemostasis and research methodology

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4Queen’sUniversity M

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DIVISION OF HEMATOLOGYEtherington Hall, Room 2015Queen’s University94 Stuart StreetKingston, Ontario K7L 3N6

deptmed.queensu.ca/divisions/hematology/postgraduate

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