A hematologist is a physician who is trained first to be a general medical doctor and then receives education for the specialization of hematology to prevent, diagnose, treat and investigate malignant and non-malignant blood diseases, such as cancers, vascular disorders or bleeding disorders. A hematologist can pursue various career tracks including research, clinical practice and teaching. Hematologists often work closely with oncologists, who treat cancer diseases, or combine specialties.
It's recommended that would-be hematologists take biology, mathematics, English, chemistry and physics courses in high school, as well as part of their four-year undergraduate program to earn a bachelor's degree. After earning the bachelor's degree, the student must complete four years of medical school to earn a Doctor of Medicine degree, or M.D. According to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Science Education, the M.D. is earned as a result of "at least two academic years of work prior to entrance and a total of at least six academic years of work to complete the degree program, including both prior-required college work and the professional program itself."
The residency consists of three years of clinical training, after completing medical school. This involves a track such as internal medicine, pathology or pediatrics, and is a precursor to any specific hematology/oncology study. During the residency, a physician learns how to administer patient care, but basic research is usually not part of the training.
The three years required in a fellowship program are when physicians become "fellows" and finally get to dive into their hematology subspecialty. According to the American Society of Hematology, the American hematologist "has trained in a subspecialty program approved by the American Board of Internal Medicine or the American Board of Pediatrics, or has acquired a comparable education in the field by alternate means, and is Board Certified (or eligible) in the subspecialty of hematology." In the first year, focus is on clinical training in areas like adult hematology, coagulation, hematology/oncology, pathology or pediatric hematology/oncology. The second and third years of fellowship are devoted to specific career tracks.
After completing a hematology fellowship, physicians apply their education in pursuit of hematology careers to work in clinics, hospitals, labs and universities. They may take academic positions as faculty members or professors, go into private or group hematology practice, or get hired by a government agency or corporation.
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