Fellowship Details & Requirements

Applications are only accepted using our PDF Applicant Application for the July cycle, and utilizes the NRMP Match to fill all positions. Interviews will begin in mid-September and continue through October. All applications will be reviewed and ranked by November in preparation for the December match.

Required documents for all applicants:

• M.D. degree or equivalent

• U.S. Citizenship, Permanent Residency, or a J-1 VISA. MD Anderson Cancer Center does not offer H-1B VISAS for GME Trainees

• Submit a current ECFMG Certification (if you completed medical school outside the United States)

• Submit a copy of your USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK, and Step 3 if applicable, or COMLEX scores

• Submit a current Curriculum Vitae (CV)

• Professional Headshot

• 3 Letters of Recommendation (LORs), one letter from the Residency Program Director, two letters from an attending physician, and/or teaching faculty. The writers of your LORs must send the letters directly to mda_rehab_fellowship@mdanderson.org.
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After initial screening, if accepted, the following documents will be required:

• Official medical school transcript
• Certificates from all completed internship, residency, or fellowship training programs
• Letter of good standing from current program director (uploaded and original)
• USMLE/COMLEX exam transcript (score reports are not acceptable)
• ECFMG certificate, if applicable
• Translations of documents not in English, if applicable
• Credential evaluation for foreign medical school transcript(s), if applicable

A sample contract for prospective trainees may be viewed here. 

Application Timeline Overview
2025-2026

• The deadline for submission of applications for the 2025-26 Cancer Rehabilitation is September 12, 2025, for a position beginning July 1, 2026.
• Download and email your completed application with your supporting documentation (listed below) to mda_rehab_fellowship@mdanderson.org.
   

Fellowship Program Goals

• To train individuals to provide state-of-the-art multi-disciplinary care for patients with advanced cancer and other chronic illnesses.
• To develop leaders in the field of palliative medicine.
• To provide a rigorous academic experience in which fellows can participate in clinical research under the guidance of experienced mentors.

Clinical Patient Care Goals

• Assess and manage the rehabilitation needs of a cancer patient in inpatient, outpatient and consultation settings.
• Trained to acquire relevant history in a prioritized fashion, integrating components of functioning.
• Able to broaden the scope of interventions to address quality of life outcomes in addition to curative & palliative interventions.
• Exposure to procedural skills, including spasticity management and musculoskeletal injections in the cancer setting. Exposure to ultrasound-guided musculoskeletal injections.
• Learn to provide coordinated comprehensive rehabilitation interventions that address patient’s individual physical, cognitive, behavioral, emotional and social needs.
• Understand the restoration of patients to meaningful activity through innovative living, working and recreational activities
• Understand the typical clinical course associated with various cancers/treatments and optimizing functional status with ongoing clinical changes.
• Learn typical clinical and functional course associated with various cancers.
• Learn the functional adversities posed by various cancer treatments.
• Able to assess symptoms, including pain, nausea, vomiting, depression etc. and how these should be managed.
• Understand the electro diagnostic pathologies in cancer settings.
• Communicate with referring and primary physicians and teams about rehabilitation needs for patients.
• Develop excellent skills in communication and counseling of patients and their families.
• Apply critical appraisal skills to literature in rehabilitation medicine.
• Understand the health care delivery system and understand the economics of different settings.
• Demonstrate integrity, honesty, and compassion in the care of patients.
• Able to implement follow-up planning to establish community support for patients, including hospice care, nursing homes, long-term acute care, home care, etc. 
• Act as an effective advocate for the rights of the patient and family in clinical situations involving serious ethical considerations.
• Able to incorporate evidence-based decision-making for the needs of patients and their families.
• Access the relevant literature in helping to solve clinical problems.
• Familiar with the pharmacology of all major drug groups used in the management of cancer and non-cancer related symptoms including analgesics, anti-emetics, cardiac and respiratory drugs, and psychotropics.
• Understand the role for prehabilitation versus rehabilitation to improved outcomes in cancer patients.
• Exposure to other supportive services available to cancer patients (please see “Educational Program”).

Medical Knowledge

• Learn to provide coordinated comprehensive rehabilitation interventions that address patient’s individual physical, cognitive, behavioral, emotional and social needs.
• Understand restoration of patients to meaningful activity through innovative living, working and recreational activities.
• Integrates foundational knowledge into physiatric practice across a spectrum of ages, impairments, and clinical settings.
• Learn the functional adversities posed by various cancer treatments.
• Be able to assess symptoms, including pain, nausea, vomiting, depression etc., and how these should be managed.
• Understand the role for Prehabilitation versus rehabilitation to improved outcomes in cancer patients.
• Understand the health care delivery system and understand the economics of different setting.
• Become familiar with the pharmacology of all major drug groups used in the management of cancer and non-cancer related symptoms including analgesics, anti-emetics, cardiac and respiratory drugs, and psychotropics.
• Become familiar with methodological and content aspects of rehabilitation related research. Training in critical appraisal of the literature and research methodology will be provided. Fellow will be mentored in the preparation of peer review publications if desired.
• Attend the biweekly “Chief’s Journal Club” for brief analyses of recent supportive care topics.

System-Based Practice

• Understand the typical clinical course associated with various cancers/treatments and optimizing functional status with ongoing clinical changes.
• Actively engage teams and processes to modify systems to prevent patient safety events.
• Participate in quality improvement initiatives.
• Implement follow-up planning to establish community support for patients, including hospice care, nursing homes, long-term acute care, home care, etc.
• Act as an effective advocate for the rights of the patient and family in clinical situations involving serious ethical considerations.
• Become effective educators. They will be expected to regularly present articles in the journal club and participate in weekly didactic lectures with the faculty.
• Expected to lecture at least once at the Palliative Care, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine Department grand rounds.
• Become familiar with education of medical students, residents, and allied health workers. Fellows will become familiar with the process of development of a curriculum for a cancer rehabilitation program.
• Become familiar with the organization and reimbursement of cancer rehabilitation-related services. They will be capable of preparing a project (including clinical and financial justification) for the development of cancer rehabilitation programs in academic medical centers. They will be given preliminary training on organizing a fellowship program in cancer rehabilitation medicine.

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement

• Apply critical appraisal skills to literature in rehabilitation medicine.
• Fellows will be able to incorporate evidence-based decision-making for the needs of patients and their families.
• Exposure to other supportive services available to cancer patients

Professionalism

• Demonstrate integrity, honesty, and compassion in the care of patients.
• Ability to access the relevant literature in helping to solve clinical problems.
• Proactively implement strategies to ensure that the needs of patients, teams, and systems are met in a timely manner.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills

• Communicate with referring and primary physicians and teams about rehabilitation needs for patients.
• Develop excellent skills in the communication and counseling of patients and their families.
• Participates in shared decision-making in patient/family communication, including those with a high degree of uncertainty/conflict.
• Facilitates regular healthcare team-based feedback in complex situations.

Research Goals

The section of Cancer Rehabilitation Medicine within the Department of Palliative Care, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine (PRIM) has a very active research program. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in a number of institutional, departmental, and sectional research opportunities.  Institutional workshops are available on:

• Writing and publishing research articles
• Grant writing classes
• Scientific writing
• PubMed basics
• EndNote Basic and Advanced

Our department and section have a significant research infrastructure and support in place, including identification of research ideas, formulating and submitting protocols for institutional review board (IRB), preparation of a database and relevant analysis, etc.

• Fellows will become familiar with methodological and content aspects of rehabilitation-related research. Training in the critical appraisal of the literature and research methodology will be provided. They will be mentored in the preparation of peer review publications if desired.
• Fellows will attend the biweekly “Chief’s Journal Club” for brief analyses of recent supportive care topics.

Teaching Goals

• Fellows will become effective educators. They will be expected to regularly present articles in the monthly journal club as well as in the weekly Palliative, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine (PRIM) Grand Rounds, Clinical Rounds, and unit rounds. They will participate in weekly didactic lectures with the faculty.
• Our cancer rehabilitation program has active didactic sessions, which include both weekly and monthly academic presentations by fellows, as well as monthly research presentations by the research team. At the beginning of the year, fellows will be assigned a mentor to overlook their scholarly activities. The weekly fellows’ presentations are supervised by faculty and, if deemed appropriate, will culminate into a manuscript for publication. Fellows will become familiar with the methodological and content aspects of cancer rehabilitation and research. They will receive formal training in the critical appraisal of the literature and research methodology. 
• Fellows will become familiar with the education of residents, fellows, and visiting faculty.
• A completed project, either in clinical or basic science research and quality (QI), is required of each fellow, and a written paper suitable for publication is expected before a certificate from MD Anderson Cancer Center is issued. Our track records indicate our fellows, on average, publish at least two papers per year.

Administration Goals

• Fellows will become familiar with the organization and reimbursement of cancer rehabilitation services.
• Fellows will be capable of preparing a project (including clinical and financial justification) for the development of Cancer Rehabilitation in academic medical centers.

Program Structure

Program Curriculum

The curriculum will be comprised of the following major elements:

• Inpatient rehabilitation service
• Inpatient consult service
• Outpatient rehabilitation
• Required rotations
• Electives and opportunities

Fellows receive training in symptom management, prehabilitation, management of complex cancer rehabilitation patients, and cancer survivorship issues. Outpatient rotations also allow for Electrodiagnostic studies, the use of botulinum toxin for spasticity, and ultrasound-guided injections for musculoskeletal pain.

Didactics

Numerous didactics are available, including institutional Core Curriculum, Department of Palliative Care, Rehabilitation and Integrative Medicine Grand Rounds, Clinical Rounds, Chief’s Rounds with Chairman of the department, Palliative Care and Cancer Rehab Journal Clubs, and ongoing informal discussion of cancer rehabilitation topics by the PM&R section faculty.

Research Opportunities and Training

The section of Cancer Rehabilitation Medicine within the Department of Palliative Care, Rehabilitation, and Integrative Medicine (PRIM) has a very active research program. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in a number of institutional, departmental, and sectional research opportunities. Institutional workshops are available on:

• Writing and publishing research articles
• Grant writing classes
• Scientific writing
• PubMed basics
• EndNote Basic and Advanced

Our department and section have a significant research infrastructure and support in place, including identification of research ideas, formulating and submitting protocols for institutional review board (IRB), preparation of database and relevant analysis, etc.

Additionally, our fellows have the opportunity to work with, learn from, and collaborate with faculty members in our department as well as with research mentors across the institution. This includes Palliative Care, Chronic Pain Management, Psychiatry, Head/Neck, Fatigue, Integrative Medicine, Psychology, Orthopedic Oncology, and Pediatrics faculty members, to name just a few. During the year, fellows are encouraged to submit and present their research at national meetings such as PTRM, AAPMR, ACRM, MASCC, and ASCO.

The program averages 2 fellows per year, and fellows have enjoyed great success. Past graduates have gone on to hold faculty positions at esteemed academic institutions, including Cedar Sinai, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, Rush University, University of Texas Southwestern, University of Louisville, St. David's Georgetown Hospital, ACC, Johns Hopkins University, Emory University, Cleveland Clinic, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, and the University of Texas-Houston.

In addition to gaining unparalleled education and training experience, MD Anderson trainees have access to exceptional resources and benefits to help them build meaningful careers and lead fulfilling lives.

Institutional benefits and support

GME trainees’ salary stipends are updated every year based on the ACGME’s recommendations, and because our trainees are considered workforce members, they also enjoy MD Anderson’s employee benefits, including health insurance, retirement planning, disability insurance and six weeks of parental leave.

Our GME House Staff Senate offers trainees the opportunity to experience a leadership role in a medical field career, and the institution’s Academic Mentoring Council provides avenues to secure tailored academic mentoring from faculty. Our GME trainees benefit from the extensive support offered to our research trainees, too; they are invited to participate in grant application workshops, apply for pilot grants to support their research ideas and receive monetary awards for securing extramural grant funding.

Trainee wellness is also of utmost importance at MD Anderson.

Our trainees have access to MD Anderson’s employee networks, fitness center and other wellness resources provided by the institution. Additionally, our Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC), which provides oversight of our accredited programs, regularly assess our trainees’ needs and implements various initiatives, such as providing free call meals and discounted parking to GME House Staff, to address those gaps. The committee even has a subcommittee entirely dedicated to supporting the wellness of our trainees.

Our efforts to ensure a welcoming and supportive education and training experience have been commended nationally. In 2023, the Office of Graduate Medical Education received the DeWitt C. Baldwin, Jr. Award, a prestigious national award that recognizes our institution for its respectful and supportive environment for delivering medical education and patient care.

Beyond MD Anderson

MD Anderson’s location has many benefits, too. Our main campus is nestled inside the Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical center which boasts about 10 million patient encounters each year. Many of our faculty are involved in interorganizational research collaborations, both within the TMC and across the nation, exposing trainees to groundbreaking advancements in medical care in real time.

Most importantly, the city of Houston is a great place to call home and raise a family. We are one of the most culturally diverse cities in the nation. More than 145 different languages are spoken across the city, placing us behind only New York and Los Angeles. In fact, about 30% of the city’s population speaks a language other than English at home. And, paychecks here stretch farther than most U.S. metro areas, thanks to our low cost of living.

Visit our Why Houston page to learn more about our city’s affordable housing, fine dining, entertainment scene, nationally renowned museums and other great attributes.