Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Breast Surgery Fellowship

New Brunswick, New Jersey

Training Program Director: Shicha Kumar MD FACS

The Division of Surgical Oncology at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey has four full-time, SSO-fellowship trained surgeons within the Section of Breast Surgery. The Breast Surgery Section also includes an APN and an RN. The Division of Medical Oncology has five dedicated breast medical oncologists and the Department of Radiation Oncology has three radiation oncologists focusing on breast cancer. 604 new individual patients with breast cancer were seen as new patients at the New Brunswick location in FY 2015.  The principal teaching hospital, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, is accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. The Cancer Hospital of New Jersey at RWJUH has 93 oncology specific beds with 31 reserved for Surgical Oncology. One fellowship position is available for 2016-2017. The fellowship has been continuously approved since 2007 by the SSO. Graduating fellows have entered the community as well as academic positions. All fellows obtained post-fellowship positions prior to graduation.

Clinical Rotations

One month is spent on Surgical Pathology for the examination of breast specimens. One month is spent in the Women’s Imaging Center where the fellow reviews over 1,000 breast images, including breast MRI.  Eight months are spent on the Breast Surgery Service. Six months occur at the New Brunswick campus at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of NJ, the states only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.  The emphasis at this site is on the multidisciplinary management of the breast cancer patient. In the outpatient office, the emphasis is given to new patient evaluation with a variety of minimally invasive techniques such as fine needle aspiration with immediate on-site assessment, diagnostic US and US-guided core and vacuum assisted biopsies. The US guided biopsy procedures are performed completely by the surgical faculty. Two dedicated US machines are available in the breast center as is a vacuum-assisted core biopsy system. In the OR, the fellow will be the operating surgeon for complex cases such as skin-sparing and nipple-areola sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction, axillary dissection, ultrasound-guided partial mastectomy for non-palpable cancer and the placement of brachytherapy devices. The fellow will instruct junior residents for simple procedures such as sentinel node mapping and excisional biopsy. The fellow will spend 4 weeks on Breast Medical Oncology, including a formal Genetic Risk Assessment Clinic. Four weeks are spent on Radiation Oncology. The fellow spends two months on a community breast surgery rotation with an SSO-fellowship trained breast surgeon at University Medical Center at Princeton, RWJUH at Hamilton and RWJUH at Somerset. Together, these locations provide exposure to over 450 new breast cancer patients per year. At the Hamilton location, the fellow will obtain hands-on experience with stereotactic biopsy under the direction of full-time Rutgers breast surgery faculty. Activities that span the entire year include one to two weekdays per month while on Breast Surgery at Plastic Surgery Arts of NJ, evaluating breast cancer patients at various stages of breast reconstruction procedures.

Eligibility, Salary and Benefits

The fellowship is available to fully trained surgeons eligible or certified by the American Board of Surgery. The fellow salary is the current PG-6 level at Rutgers RWJMS. Health benefits and four weeks of vacation are included. The fellow is assigned a personal desk and work area with a PC in the CINJ fellow’s office. Vacation is taken during the New Brunswick Breast Surgery rotations in one to two-week increments.

Application

We participate in the SSO Breast Fellowship Matching Program. A personal statement and three letters of reference (one from your surgery program director) should be sent to the SSO along with other supporting documents as required.

Contact Information