An initiative of
Dr. Jayson Stoffman
Program Director
Cris Pescasio
The University of Manitoba’s training program in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology has strengths in clinical Hematology/Oncology. Each year, our group will see approximately 50 new malignant diagnoses and approximately 400 new hematology consultations. We are also a FACT accredited hematopoietic stem cell transplant program which performs approximately 20 pediatric transplants (autologous/ allogeneic, related/unrelated, cord) each year for both non-malignant and malignant indications. The variety of non-malignant hematology and oncology patients allows for exposure to the wide spectrum of diseases while ensuring sufficient time for in depth understanding of the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and management of each illness. There are individualized teaching opportunities with all the clinicians, who each have unique areas of specialization within the broad field of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and are eager to share their knowledge and expertise.
Beyond the clinical Pediatric Hematology/Oncology program itself, the Manitoba Bleeding Disorders Program provides care to patients with inherited and acquired bleeding disorders from Manitoba and Northern Ontario, and members are active internationally in hemophilia care allowing for excellent training and outreach opportunities. Training also incorporates the Clinical Laboratory programs including hematopathology, HLA/Cell Therapy, Hemostasis, and Transfusion Medicine. Research opportunities with experienced mentors are available through both the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba and the Research Institute in Oncology and Hematology. This would include Basic Research (for example: platelet biochemistry, developmental biology, signaling, transcription factors and transgenic mouse models), Translational Research (retinoblastoma, neuroblastoma, leukemia, cancer predisposition syndromes, graft versus host disease and coagulation), and Clinical Research
This residency program is for 3 years.
Program length of training does not exceed the Royal College or College of Family Physicians of Canada standard.
The Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology offers a quality training program in all aspects of clinical Hematology, Oncology and research. Its faculty is dedicated to excellence in education, research and patient care. With the introduction of Competence by Design in July 2021, the program has been structured to ensure the availability of excellent training experience to complete the required Entrustable Professional Activities. Over the three years of training, the successful resident will have clinical exposure to the breadth of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology/BMT and its related disciplines on the inpatient units and specialized outpatient clinics. Expertise in blood banking, hematopathology and hemostasis will also be developed thought training experiences in the specialized clinical laboratories. There is opportunity for clinical electives in areas of individual interest, locally, nationally or internationally. Time is also set aside for the development of scholarly projects and more in-depth clinical experiences according to the candidate’s needs or interests. Residents will be expected to develop expertise in procedures such as lumbar punctures and also bone marrow aspirations and biopsies on children of all ages.
There is a structured academic curriculum designed to cover all of the Royal College Objectives of Training over the course of the three year program. The Academic Half Day is organized into monthly topics, with a specific sub-topic covered each week. These sessions will be facilitated by a specific member of the faculty, with the expectation that the resident will prepare in advance for an interactive and collaborative teaching session. The resident will also be encouraged to attend outside meetings and conference of interest, and to submit abstracts where appropriate.
At the completion of training, it is expected that the trainee will be a competent and independent consultant in Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology/BMT, able to counsel parents, patients and others in all aspects of Oncology and Hematology. As well, they will have acquired the critical skills to further pursue expertise in research, education and improving standards of clinical care as their interests dictate.
