EDUCATION
A sample week in the life…
Monday
Tuesday
7:45 – 8:30
Morning Conf Pancreas: workup, diagnosis,
staging
Morning Conf Pancreas: key
studies
9:00 – 12:00
Clinic - Eisbruch
Review volumes
12:00 – 1:00
Wednesday
Treatment
Planning
Conference Optimizer and
Sequencer
Compromises in
IMRT
Clinic - Eisbruch
Thursday
Morning Conf Pancreas:
treatment
technique
Clinic - Eisbruch
Journal Club
1:00 – 4:00
Clinic - Eisbruch
No clinic
Clinic - Eisbruch
4:00 – 5:30
Radiation
Physics Production of
photons/elect.
Radiobiology Hypoxia
Radiation
Physics Radiation
interactions
Multidisciplinary
Head and Neck
Clinic
Friday
Chart Rounds
Clinic – Kong
Multidisciplinary
Thoracic Tumor
Board
Clinic - Kong
Friday Lecture
Series: Surgical
Oncology Melanoma
Protected time (i.e. no clinic responsibility) – morning conference, journal club, physics and biology
lectures, Friday lecture series
Morning Conference
Resident-directed morning conferences occur on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday of each week from
7:45 – 8:30 AM. We devote the entire week to a particular disease, covering epidemiology, natural
history, staging, diagnostic work-up, and treatment planning. The supervising attending is also present
to aid in literature review and discussion of current developments and controversies.
Treatment Planning Conference
Every Wednesday morning from 7:45-8:30 AM, a conference coordinated by the physics group is
presented covering topics related to treatment planning, including dose calculation algorithms, delivery
techniques, quality assurance, or target delineation. As a resident, you are involved in presenting one
such conference per year, typically in conjunction with physics and dosimetry staff.
Friday Lecture Series
Guest lecturers from outside the Department of Radiation Oncology are invited to discuss relevant
topics with the residents on Friday afternoons. Speakers come from all relevant disciplines. Previous
speakers have included urologists, surgical oncologists, medical oncologists, radiologists, gynecologic
oncologists, plastic surgeons, dermatologists, and palliative care specialists. Occasionally, a faculty
member from our department will review a disease site in an “oral boards” style question and answer
format.
Grand Rounds
The first Thursday of each month from 7:45-8:30 AM, a radiation oncology faculty member will present
a formal lecture detailing their current research interests.
Morbidity and Mortality
One Tuesday each month from 7:45-8:30 AM, residents and faculty discuss morbidity and mortality.
Patients who have experienced treatment breaks, ER visits, or toxicity are discussed with an educational
perspective.
Journal Club
Once a month from 12:00-1:00 PM, a physician, physicist, and biologist each select one article for
discussion. Along with a supervising attending, a resident will present approximately four articles over
the course of the clinical year. The entire department meets to discuss these articles over lunch.
Didactics
Lectures in radiation physics and radiobiology are attended by PGY 2 and 4 residents in the fall and
spring. Physics lectures are on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4:00-5:30, radiobiology lectures are on
Tuesdays from 4:00 – 5:15PM. Residents also attend an 8-week course in medical statistics every other
year.
Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards
Residents attend multidisciplinary tumor boards relevant to their rotation. The exposure to medical
oncology, pathology, surgical oncology, and radiology serves to meet ACGME requirements in these
areas.
RESIDENCY OUTLINE
Schedule
Residents typically cover two attendings per each three month rotation. The schedule is structured so
that a resident is only responsible for consultations of a single attending at any given time in clinic. Call
occurs in weekly blocks, with approximately seven calls annually.
Residents also rotate through the Ann Arbor VA once during their first year of residency, and usually at
least one more time during their senior rotations as a senior resident. The VA is conveniently located
one mile from the main hospital. During the senior rotation, residents also travel to Providence Hospital
in Novi, MI, on Mondays and Wednesdays to perform prostate brachytherapy implants and planning
with University of Michigan faculty. A university car is provided to transport you to and from Novi
during this time period.
Elective Rotations
During their final year, residents will have three months of elective time. Commonly, this will be used to
enhance understanding of clinical physics or dosimetry. Many residents also choose to use this time to
become more experienced in a particular treatment technique or disease site.
Research
All residents complete a full year of research during the PGY 4 year. In the interest of productivity, the
residents do not have clinic responsibilities (i.e. no call, morning conference) during the research year.
In addition, most residents find time to engage in research in clinical years as well. If a resident will be
presenting research at a conference, the department will cover the travel and registration expense.
Example resident schedule
PGY 2
Lung/Breast
Gyn/GI
VA
GI/CNS
PGY 3
H&N/Lung
GU/Peds/Sarcoma
CNS/Lymphoma/
Breast
VA/Prostate
Brachy
PGY 4
PGY 5
Research
Breast/Lung
Elective
H&N/Lymphoma
Gyn/GI
WHY CHOOSE US?
In addition to the classic strengths of the top residency programs, our residency experience has many
unique advantages.
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A full year of research time (without clinical responsibilities)
U of M House Officers Association (WOULD LIKE LINK UNDER THE NAME)
o Allows collective negotiation with the University of Michigan
o Ensures residents enjoy a generous salary and benefit package relative to other
residency programs
A generous, annual CME fund
An experienced group of dosimetrists who, incidentally, are also great teachers
Life in Ann Arbor(would like link under name)
We get along…
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