Career-Development Timeline for MD Trainees (Continuous Priorities)

While every person's career path clearly requires an individualized plan for true success, based on insight from hematology leadership and fellows, the ASH Trainee Council has created a generalized framework to help guide those training for a career in hematology.

This timeline assumes that year 1 will be devoted to clinical training, with remaining years focused on a specific career pathway.

Continuous Priorities  Year 1  Year 2  Year 3 

Continuous Priorities Throughout Fellowship

  • Check out the many ASH career development awards available for those training in a career in hematology.
     
  • Have formal meetings with your program director and your division chief twice a year. If they are different people, know that their interests may be different: the program director's primary interest will be in your individual interests and career development; whereas a division chief seeks to identify your interests within the context of the needs of the division.
  • Attend a weekly research conference at your institution to help scout out potential mentors and to break from "hospital" thinking.
  • Attend a national or international research meeting as soon as possible after starting your fellowship. This is usually quite difficult during first-year clinical rotations, but not insurmountable, and is absolutely necessary by years 2 and 3. The ASH Web site is a good resource for identifying conferences of interest in addition to the annual meetings of ASH and ASCO.
  • Sign up early for any available "research methods" or "scientific writing" courses that your training institution and/or affiliated teaching hospital may offer to its junior faculty or trainees as part of its research development initiatives. These are often more accessible than competitive, and more committed, research degree programs or workshops. Increasing numbers of academic centers have a clinical research program or center with educational aims and logistic support for its local researchers.

Additional Resources

  • Mark your calendar of upcoming medical meetings that you can incorporate into your personal timeline.

Continuous Priorities  Year 1  Year 2  Year 3 

back to top