Abstract :
The pediatric hematology and oncology (PHO) services in Iran have steadily improved during the past 10 years. Today, we have specialized PHO services in almost all major cities throughout the country, where 43 board-certified or eligible pediatric hematologist-oncologists are currently giving care to children suffering from cancer or hematological disorders. There is an approved fellowship program for PHO at three university children’s hospitals (Ali Asghar and Mofid Children’s Hospitals in Tehran, and Golestan Children’s Hospital in Ahwaz). Only board-certified pediatricians are eligible for this fellowship program and have to pass written and oral examinations for admission. After completing the three-year fellowship training program and passing the final board examination, the qualified specialists have to serve for five years in designated medical centers in different parts of the country according to the current rules, exerted by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The preset conditions for enrollment in the fellowship program have ensured fair distribution of pediatric hematology and oncology services throughout the country. As both fields of pediatric hematology and oncology are expanding rapidly, the necessity to revise the current fellowship program is already felt, and a separate training program for each specialty should be started in the near future. Concurrent to the improvements in the field of PHO, there has been a good training program for pediatric surgery. Today, seventy-four boardcertified pediatric surgeons are providing surgical care to pediatric patients.
