Clinical Summary: 

• Design/Population: A hematology-oncology fellowship bootcamp was developed at the University of Miami to support fellows transitioning from internal medicine into oncology, with a 10-week curriculum covering foundational oncology, disease-specific 101 sessions, clinical trials, career development, and board review.
• Key Outcomes: The bootcamp improved fellow engagement, confidence, and knowledge across training levels, with gains observed not only among first-year fellows but also senior fellows. The program used multiple educational formats, including case-based learning, chalk talks, guideline-based exercises, and interactive board review, and was associated with improved in-training examination performance.
• Clinical Relevance: A structured early fellowship bootcamp may help close foundational oncology knowledge gaps, improve learner confidence, and provide a scalable educational model for hematology-oncology programs and other clinical training settings.

Chinmay Jani, MBBS, University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miami, Florida, discusses the development and evaluation of a comprehensive hematology-oncology fellowship bootcamp designed to address foundational educational knowledge gaps encountered during the transition from internal medicine residency to fellowship. The curriculum combined case-based learning, board review, disease-specific “101” sessions, clinical trial education, and career development through a variety of teaching formats.  

The 10-week program resulted in measurable improvements in fellow knowledge, confidence, and examination performance while fostering engagement through case-based discussions, team learning, and practical clinical scenarios. These findings suggest that a structured onboarding model can be readily implemented across training programs to improve educational outcomes and better prepare future hematology-oncology specialists.

Dr Jani presented these results at the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. 

Transcript: 

Hello everyone. I’m Chinmay Jani, I’m chief fellow at the University of Miami and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and I’ll be joining the University of Miami as faculty this summer in thoracic oncology and phase 1 clinical trials.

Medical education has always been a passion of mine. I completed a medical education fellowship and served as chief resident at Mount Auburn Hospital, affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Currently, I’m chief fellow and graduating within a month, but medical education has always remained something very close to me. Because of that, we started this project at the beginning of the academic year when I began serving as chief fellow for 2025–2026.

For oncology trainees, especially when transitioning from internal medicine into fellowship, there is a very steep learning curve. In internal medicine, we learn a great deal about hematology, platelets, anemia, and related topics, but we often have much less exposure to chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and the rapidly evolving oncology landscape. It is already challenging for fellows and practicing oncologists to stay up to date, and it can be even more difficult for residents entering the field.

What we identified was a gap in education. Often, when fellowship didactics begin, we immediately dive into phase 3 clinical trials or discussions of hazard ratios between treatments. For example, in thoracic oncology, we might start talking about FLAURA2 versus FLAURA versus MARIPOSA in EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer. But before that, first-year fellows need to understand when to order next-generation sequencing, how to interpret pathology and molecular results, how to approach a newly diagnosed patient, how to counsel patients, how clinical trials work, and how drug development occurs. Those foundational concepts are extremely important to learn early rather than several months into training.

That idea gave rise to our Hematology-Oncology Bootcamp at the University of Miami. We started the program in mid-July, within about two weeks of fellowship start dates. It included first-, second-, and third-year fellows and continued through approximately October. We reviewed the fundamentals of chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy, helping fellows understand not only what these treatments are, but also the underlying mechanisms. We also introduced board review sessions beginning around the second month using a Kahoot-style format to make learning interactive and engaging. 

In addition, we created multiple “101” sessions covering common malignancies. These included lung cancer, breast cancer, gastrointestinal cancers such as esophageal and pancreatic cancer, genitourinary cancers, multiple myeloma, leukemia, ALL 101, AML 101, and many others. We also included sessions on clinical trial design, how to become an investigator, career development, and different career pathways available within oncology. Altogether, this created a roughly 10-week bootcamp curriculum. 

We conducted both pre-surveys and post-surveys to assess knowledge acquisition, confidence levels, and educational preferences. Importantly, we incorporated several educational approaches rather than relying solely on PowerPoint lectures. 

Some topics, such as clinical trial methodology, were delivered through traditional didactics. However, many of the 101 sessions were case-based. Fellows worked through real-world and hypothetical patient scenarios and used NCCN and ASCO guidelines to determine appropriate management strategies. This helped fellows learn oncology from the ground up in a practical and interactive manner.

When we analyzed the pre- and post-program results, we observed significant improvements in both knowledge and confidence. Interestingly, these improvements were seen not only among first-year fellows but also among second- and third-year fellows. And, as we like to say, the cherry on top was that breakfast and lunch were always provided. Having food, coffee, caffeine, and, of course, cafecitos and tostadas in Miami definitely helped attendance and engagement. 

Overall, the program significantly improved fellow engagement and educational outcomes. We also observed improvements in our in-training examination, or ITE, performance after implementation of the bootcamp. The model itself is relatively simple and highly reproducible. It could easily be adapted by other fellowship programs and educational institutions, not only for hematology-oncology fellows but for many different types of learners as well.

Source: 

Jani C, Zheng XX, Sbihi AA, et al. Hematology-oncology bootcamp: Educational impact of an interactive, guideline-based “101” curriculum. Presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting. May 29 - June 2, 2026. Chicago, Illinois. Abstract 9035.