Following the completion of a four-week inpatient rotation in hematology-oncology, the house officer should:

• Be familiar with the presenting manifestations of the most common pediatric tumors, including epidemiology (usual age and relative frequency), differential diagnosis, and the optimal employment of diagnostic imaging studies, laboratory tests, and consultants.
  
  
• Be knowledgeable about the overall principles of treating children with cancer, including concepts of multidisciplinary care, specific chemotherapeutic agents and their combinations, novel biological approaches, and supportive care (transfusions, growth factors, antiemetic agents, pain control, etc.). This understanding of treatment approaches and outcomes includes familiarity with current cure rates and problems associated with the long-term follow-up of patients who are apparently cured.
  
  
• Be familiar with the diagnosis of sickle hemoglobinopathies and identification and management of complications of sickle cell disease, including vaso-occlusive (pain) crisis, chest syndrome, aplastic crisis, splenic sequestration crisis, and infections. This understanding includes knowledge of pathophysiology and newer treatment modalities aimed at preventing serious complications.
  
  
• Be knowledgeable about the diagnosis and management of the common hematologic disorders during childhood encountered by the primary care physician, including iron deficiency anemia, thalassemia, anemia of inflammation, transient erythroblastopenia of childhood, hereditary spherocytosis and other hemolytic anemias, neutropenia, lymphadenopathy, and disorders of the spleen.
  
  
• Understand the differential diagnosis and management of the most common bleeding disorders seen during childhood, including idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, other thrombocytopenias, hemophilia, von Willebrand disease, and acquired coagulopathies.
  
  
• Understand and appreciate the role that clinical and translational research plays in optimizing patient care and in creating new knowledge through conduct of biological classification studies and formal clinical trials. This includes consideration of ethical issues involved in obtaining informed consent and in end-of-life care.