Now Published: ASH Clinical Practice Guidelines on VTE in Patients with Cancer
ASH's new clinical practice guideline on the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with cancer is now published in Blood Advances.
This is the latest in a series of 11 guidelines ASH is developing on VTE with support from the McMaster University GRADE Centre in Canada.
The recommendations address the use of mechanical and pharmacological prophylaxis in hospitalized patients with cancer, in those undergoing a surgical procedure, and in ambulatory patients with cancer receiving systemic therapy. They also address the use of anticoagulation for the initial, short-, and long-term treatment of VTE in patients with cancer, including those with central venous catheter and patients with recurrent VTE despite anticoagulation treatment.
Find the guidelines, as well as clinical tools and educational resources for implementation, at hematology.org/VTEguidelines.
ASH Funds 10 Hematology-Focused Fellowship Training Programs
The Society has dedicated $19 million to address the critical need to expand the hematology workforce with expertise in non-malignant blood disorders.
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has dedicated $19 million to fund 10 new hematology-focused fellowship tracks in existing adult hematology-oncology training programs. The goal of the new ASH Hematology-Focused Fellowship Training Program is to strengthen the pipeline for the hematology workforce by producing 50 new academic hematologists by 2030.
U.S. academic institutions can apply to the program as of February 16, and selected institutions will receive funding to support the salary of an assistant program director to develop a robust hematology training experience, as well as up to two new fellows per year over a period of five years. The first cohort of 10 ASH-sponsored hematology fellows is expected to begin in July 2023.
"Ensuring an invigorated and sustainable future for hematology and, in particular, nonmalignant hematology, is key strategic priority for the Society," said 2021 ASH President Martin S. Tallman, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. "We believe it is critically important for ASH to make this unprecedented investment in the field, which will in turn benefit participating institutions by allowing them to expand their own hematology workforce."
Over the course of 25 years, accredited hematology only fellowship programs have been gradually absorbed into combined accredited hematology-oncology programs. According to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, in 1995 there were 74 accredited U.S. hematology training programs and 75 hematology-oncology programs. Today, there are only two accredited single-specialty hematology programs and 172 combined hematology-oncology programs. However, a handful of dually accredited programs have started to offer hematology-focused tracks within their combined programs for fellows that express an interest in only boarding in hematology. ASH is looking to build on this model by funding the creation of new hematology-focused tracks within accredited hematology-oncology programs.
ASH expects that the institutions supported under this program will augment their hematology-focused fellowship tracks with innovative, enhanced curricula in multidisciplinary nonmalignant hematology. Multidisciplinary nonmalignant hematology is defined as clinical hematology paired with either enhanced career expertise in a subdiscipline of non-malignant hematology (e.g., transfusion medicine) or a complementary discipline (e.g., medical education, systems-based hematology).
At the core of ASH's effort to sustain and strengthen the hematology workforce is a comprehensive longitudinal workforce study commissioned by the Society to examine the current workforce and the existing pipeline of future hematologists. The initial results of the ongoing three-year study helped shed light on critical opportunities for ASH intervention. One of the primary recommendations from the first phase of the workforce study was the need to increase the number of hematology-oncology fellowship programs designed to prioritize training in hematology and promote careers in hematology in the United States.
"Not only are we, as hematologists, at the forefront of cutting-edge research, but we are also afforded ample opportunities to truly make a difference in the lives of individuals who need our specialized care," said Dr. Tallman. "ASH looks forward to collaborating with the institutions selected for this program to recruit a new class of talented hematologists and support them throughout their careers."
Proposals will be accepted for the Hematology-Focused Fellowship Training Program through November, with the awarded institutions to be announced in March 2022 after a competitive review process.
Institutions interested in submitting a proposal can find more information at hematology.org/hfftp.
