OXFORD RADCLIFFE HOSPITALS NHS TRUST - JOB DESCRIPTION
CANCER RESEARCH UK MEDICAL ONCOLOGY UNIT
OXFORDSHIRE HEALTH AUTHORITY AND UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
TITLE OF POST:
ST3 in Medical Oncology
GRADE:
Specialist Trainee
SPECIALTY:
Medical Oncology
SUPERVISING CONSULTANT:
Dr N Levitt Programme Director
EDUCATIONAL SUPERVISOR:
Dr N Levitt
FULL-TIME/PART-TIME:
Full Time
BASE HOSPITAL:
The Churchill Hospital
WORK PATTERN:
on-call
AVERAGE NUMBER OF HOURS PER WEEK:
48
CORE HOURS:
40
INCLUDES PROSPECTIVE COVER:
YES
ANNUAL AND STUDY LEAVE ARRANGEMENTS:
Duties include cover for colleages absence on annual or study leave. Leave must be planned in advance and must
be agreed with your supervising consultant. Annual leave entitlement will be 6 weeks dependent on point of
salary.
ACCOMMODATION:
ACCOMMODATION OFFICER:
Job No: SpR012
30.11.06
This post is not compulsorily resident. If accommodation is required a charge
will be made.
Mrs Paula Gomersall
Tel: 01865 225010
Educational Approval No:
PGMET No:
Medpers/Standard Job Descriptions/Med Onc/30.11.06
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1.
DUTIES OF THE POST
a)
Principal Responsibilities:
The Unit is currently divided into two firms to which registrars are assigned. Firm A (Professor
Harris, Prof Middleton, Dr. Midgley, Dr. Levitt and Dr. Patel) have a particular interest in breast
cancer, melanoma, upper GI malignancies and colorectal cancer. Firm B (Prof. Hassan, Dr Talbot, Dr
Protheroe, Dr. Macaulay and Dr Nicum) have a particular interest in lung, ovarian, sarcomas and
urological cancers. Trainees have responsibilities to both inpatients and outpatients for each firm.
The inpatients are based on the Oncology wards and Trainees have responsibility for in-patient care,
emergency admissions and liaison with GP and patient enquiries, checking the results of
investigations returning to the unit, organising and reviewing x-rays at the radiology conference,
preparing notes for the out-patient clinics, attending MDT meetings and performing “consults” as
required within the Churchill Hospital and at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
In outpatients, trainees will have responsibilities for new patients and patients on follow-up. This
involves attendance at oncology clinics, and the MDT meetings. Lymphoma and carcinoid clinics
also exist, although not on a weekly basis.
There are also additional responsibilities that include administrative, research and teaching
commitments. There are responsibilities with regard to the running of clinical trials particularly Phase
I and II, each specialist trainee will be assigned particular trials to link with the research team.
The responsibilities of the post may also vary slightly as the unit integrates with Clinical Oncology.
b)
Daily Commitment:
As above
c)
Description of Working Pattern
Five specialist trainees in medical oncology share the oncology on-call rota commitment, 1:14 shared
on call with the clinical oncology trainees. Although the on-call duties are non-resident, you are
expected to be within fifteen minutes reach of the unit. Prospective cover is included for annual and
study leave.
d)
Teaching
The Cancer Research UK Medical Oncology Unit provides an educational programme in oncology
for the members of the multi-disciplinary team. Specialist Trainees are responsible for organising
this programme and in teaching undergraduates, Senior House Officers and nursing staff. Specialist
Trainees prepare summaries of clinical protocols for entry into the unit ehandbook which contains
information on medical emergencies, standard and research protocols. Educational sessions are also
held for members of the public who may visit the Unit, or meetings outside the Unit.
Weekly educational meetings include: oncology, update on scientific research at the IMM, lymphoma
meetings, medical and surgical grand rounds.
e)
Administration/Management
The Unit is keen to support the development of management skills. Specialist Trainees attend
management courses and opportunities also exist for developing computing, communication and
management skills within the Cancer Research UK, Oxford Radcliffe Trust and the University of
Oxford.
2.
TRAINING AND RESEARCH:
a)
Training Scheme:
The Cancer Research UK Medical Oncology Unit has five Specialist Trainees posts approved for
higher medical training in medical oncology but four currently funded. Each post is a four year
structured training programme that provides comprehensive training in all aspects of the staging and
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management of cancer. During the first two years Specialist Trainees may have the opportunity for
day release to attend the London Oncology course which includes the joint core curriculum in
oncology. Throughout the training programme Specialist Trainees gain experience in the use and
evaluation of cytotoxic drugs and in the multidisciplinary approach to cancer treatment. Experience
in the management of all common tumour types will be gained in the out-patient and in-patient
settings. The unit has a major interest in research and Specialist Trainees are involved in the conduct
of phase I, II and III clinical trials.
There are close links with the Cancer Research UK Molecular Oncology Laboratories based at the
IMM on the John Radcliffe site. Here research teams, including approximately 40 to 50 scientists
and clinical research fellows, have major interests in the fields of growth factor research, gene
therapy, DNA topology and repair, angiogenesis and ovarian cancer biology. Specialist Trainees
may have the opportunity to undertake a higher research degree, outwith the clinical training
programme.
b)
Research:
New and on-going studies are discussed at weekly multi-disciplinary meetings which review the
practical aspects of running the study, resource management and analysis of results. In addition, a
weekly scientific research seminar is held by the Cancer Research UK molecular oncology group.
Specialist Trainees will be trained in the co-ordination of clinical research projects, gaining
experience in the planning, writing and submission of protocols, paying particular attention to the
scientific merit and ethics of each project. The Specialist Trainees take responsibility for a number
of Phase I, II and III studies. Each project is run by a team comprising the lead consultant, specialist
trainee, research sister, data manager and clinical pharmacist. The majority of studies are conducted
in collaboration with the Cancer Research UK molecular oncology laboratories at the Weatherall
Institute of Molecular Medicine WIMM), other Cancer Research UK units or research organisations
in the UK or abroad. Specialist Trainees are expected to prepare and present work for oral and poster
presentations at local and international meetings.
c)
Facilities for Study and Training:
Good Library facilities are available at the John Radcliffe Hospital and at other libraries in the Central
Oxford Hospitals.
d)
Postgraduate Medical Education Courses Available:
Postgraduate educational facilities and courses are available.
3.
SPECIALTY:
Description of Specialty Services Provided
The Cancer Research UK Unit, a department of the University of Oxford, is part of the Oxford Oncology
Cancer Centre now within a purpose-designed Cancer Centre, opened in 2009, on the Churchill hospital site.
The principal aims of the department are to conduct translational research and provide a high quality medical
oncology service to the region.
Access to patient and in-house clinical trial data is available from computers accessible from each Specialist
Trainee’s desk via a local network serving approximately 40 computers throughout the Unit. There are also
connections from several terminals to the University of Oxford wide network, helpdesk services, library and
information services, including “Medline”, and to the internet. The unit operates a computerised prescribing
system which allows on-line prescribing of standard and trial -based treatment regimens.
The Cancer Research UK Medical Oncology Unit is a part of the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Cancer Centre
which includes the departments of clinical oncology, clinical haematology, palliative medicine and the pain
relief unit. There are close links with other oncology departments throughout the Thames Valley Cancer
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Network. The network serves a population of 2.8 million of whom 1.8 million are within the Oxford
Radcliffe Hospitals catchment area.
The workload of the Unit is shared by ten consultant medical oncologists. The unit Director Professor
Adrian Harris and Dr. Levitt have particular interest in breast cancer, Dr Denis Talbot in lung cancer, Prof.
Bass Hassan in sarcomas, Dr Andrew Protheroe and Dr. Macaulay in urological tumours and Prof. Mark
Middleton in melanoma, Dr Rachel Midgeley in colorectal cancer, Dr. Patel in upper gastrointestinal
tumours and Dr. Nicum in gynaecological malignancies. The consultants have research interests in
angiogenesis, DNA repair, immunotherapy and gene therapy. In 2006 Oxford was designated an
Experimental Cancer Centre and National Biomedical Research Centre. There is a strong record of
translational research and collaboration between the medical oncology unit and molecular oncology
laboratories at the WIMM. There are research groups at the Institute addressing angiogenesis, cancer
genetics and immunology, cell signalling, growth factors, genome integrity, DNA repair and the cell cycle.
Associated groups are involved in the research of monoclonal antibodies, the cellular pathology of
leukaemia, stem cells and immunotherapy, IGF receptor signalling, radiobiology and gene therapy. A new
MRC/Cancer Research UK Radiobiology Research Centre based on the Churchill campus was opened in
2004.
There are currently five Specialist Trainees working within the unit as well as Trainees undertaking doctoral
or postdoctoral research at the WIMM. Four Clinical Research Fellows are undertaking research for higher
degrees in the Cancer Research UK Medical oncology unit. There is several foundation and ST1/2 junior
doctors involved in the care of patients on the ward. There is excellent nursing support for research, out
patient chemotherapy administration and in patient care as well as a specialist pharmacist responsible for the
monitoring and auditing of drug prescribing in the unit. A laboratory technician manages the ward laboratory
including sample processing and storage and there is a data management team to support administration of
clinical trials. The Unit also has a business manager and secretarial support.
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