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Breast Oncology Preceptorship

Preceptorships Available for Breast Oncologists

Applications are now being accepted for a comprehensive two-week preceptorship to advance the knowledge and clinical competency of young career medical oncologists from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina in the diagnosis and treatment of all stages and types of breast cancer.  The goal of the preceptorship is to advance clinical skills, enhance application of translational science, and improve professional development skills for early-career medical oncologists caring for patients from these countries.

This will be a multidisciplinary course of clinical and didactic sessions run by the breast cancer team at UT Health MD Anderson Cancer Center in San Antonio. Selected applicants will shadow members of the clinical team including medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists and plastic surgeons who specialize in breast cancer. They will also shadow pathologists, genetic counselors, radiologists, palliative care physicians and patient navigators who are part of the breast cancer care team. Comprehensive didactic sessions on novel therapies, standard of care therapies and research technique will be taught by UT Health San Antonio clinical and basic science faculty. The NCI designated cancer center is a referral center with a large Hispanic patient population. This is particularly relevant as the patient demographics, tumor pathology and socioeconomic factor will be highly transferrable to the Hispanic population in Latin America. The institution leads the United States in accruing Hispanic patients to clinical trials and studying disease-specific outcomes in the South Texas Hispanic population.

Goals and Objectives:

The goal of the UT Health MD Anderson San Antonio Breast Oncology Preceptorship is to advance clinical skills, enhance application of translational science and improve professional development skills for early-career medical oncologists caring for patients with breast cancer in Central and Latin America.  

Key learning objectives: To gain knowledge and clinical applications in the following topics of breast cancer care: high-risk populations, pre-invasive lesions, proper screening and imaging techniques, breast cancer pathology and biomarker analysis, breast imaging for screening and diagnosis, selection of appropriate therapies in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant and metastatic settings for all breast cancer subtypes, professional development, scientific writing, breast cancer-specific clinical research design and ethical considerations in conducting breast cancer research. 

  • Develop strategies for proper screening, diagnosing, and monitoring of responses in primary and metastatic breast cancer. 
  • List biomarkers that are employed to identify the most appropriate treatment strategies for individuals with breast cancer. 
  • Discuss rationale for selection of appropriate therapies in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant and metastatic settings for all breast cancer subtypes. 
  • Elaborate on breast cancer-specific clinical research design and ethical considerations in conducting breast cancer research. 
  • Identify roles and responsibilities of various members of a multidisciplinary team who are responsible for the care of individuals with breast cancer. 

Location

This preceptorship will take place at the Mays Cancer Center which is an NCI designated cancer center, part of the UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, a large multidisciplinary health science center with Medical, Dental, Nursing, Graduate and Allied Healthcare schools.

Program Dates

Three two-week courses (each accommodating five trainees) are planned in 2020:

  • Session 1:  February 24-March 6, 2020
  • Session 2: May 4-May 14, 2020
  • Session 4: November 2-13, 2020

Application

  • Application deadline: January 18, 2020 
  • Applicants should submit a current CV,  and a 500-word statement of interest, to: Preceptor@encoremeded.com
  • Candidates for the first course will be contacted by January 24 for organization of  visa and flights.  
  • For any questions, please email preceptor@encoremeded.com

Organizational Detail

In addition to the educational program, selected candidates will receive RT airfare from residence to San Antonio, ground transportation to/from Mays, hotel accommodations and meals during the course.