The medical oncology inpatient service includes primary patients (approximately 60 percent), and consultations. As an academic medical center, all patients on the service are teaching cases. Fellows follow between 6 and 12 inpatients at any one time; they are limited to a maximum of 14 patients.

Patients on this service generally have either been recently diagnosed with oncologic disease, are experiencing complications of neoplastic disease, or have complications related to therapy. In addition, fellows evaluate and manage patients with oncologic emergencies, or patients from other services who have just been diagnosed with neoplastic disease.

Inpatient rounds are made daily. Fellows initially evaluate patients admitted to the inpatient service, and also perform consultations. After diagnosing the patient, the fellow then presents the treatment plan to the attending oncologist, who reviews and approves it. The fellow monitors his or her patients on a daily basis, writes daily progress notes, and presents any changes to the attending oncologist.