Clinical Component

Navigating the Clinical Component

Program Overview

Willis-Knighton Cancer Center operates at a scale that rivals academic programs, without the administrative constraints of an academic environment. The center spans multiple floors, runs several subspecialized tumor boards each week, and has access to technology and subspecialty support that most community programs cannot offer. Physicians in this group have built their practices over decades by saying yes to patients and building referral relationships across a large regional catchment area.

Patient Population and Volume

The Cancer Center draws from a broad catchment area covering northwest Louisiana, southern Arkansas, east Texas, and parts of Mississippi. The region is predominantly rural outside Shreveport-Bossier, meaning WK serves as the only high-level oncology resource for a large population. The group is currently adding approximately 100 new patients per week across the system.

Senior partners see 40 to 50 outpatient visits per day, plus 10 to 35 inpatient consults during weeks on call. One partner's hematology panel is booked more than three months out for new patients. An APP has been added to help manage inpatient volume, and the outpatient infusion center operates through the end of the day with at least one physician remaining available until all infusions are complete.

Top disease volumes include breast, upper GI, colon, and hematologic malignancies. GI oncology volume is growing, reflecting national trends toward younger patients presenting with colorectal cancer. GU oncology is an identified gap the group is looking to fill through subspecialization.

Inpatient Role (Phase 1 at Piermont Hospital)

The incoming physician's first contract covers inpatient oncology hospitalist coverage at Piermont Hospital. Inpatient consults include a mix of malignant and benign hematology cases, including anemia, thrombocytopenia, and newly diagnosed cancers requiring workup and treatment planning. This role is compensated on a separate RVU-based inpatient contract with no overhead.

Clinical Services and Subspecialty Support

The Cancer Center's ancillary and subspecialty infrastructure is extensive. Key resources available to the incoming oncologist:

• Radiation Oncology: World-class department. Home to the first community proton therapy center in the world. Has hosted the International Particle Therapy Cooperative Group North American meeting. Wrote national SBRT guidelines and is one of four American Brachytherapy Society training sites nationally. Two PET-CT scanners, SPECT-CT, MRI, compact CT, and dual energy CT, all owned by radiation oncology. Theranostics and nuclear oncology program on-site.
• GYN Oncology: Dr. Black, MSK-trained and nationally published. Runs her own clinical research organization.
• GI / Endoscopic Ultrasonography: MD Anderson-trained endoscopic ultrasonographer on staff. Capable of tissue sampling adjacent to the esophagus, liver, and pancreas without open surgery.
• Breast Imaging: Dedicated mammographer whose practice is limited exclusively to breast imaging.
• Molecular Biology / Genetics: Full-time molecular biologist and genetic counselor (Mary Norberg) on staff.
• Hepatobiliary Tumor Board: Weekly multidisciplinary conference reviewing 10 to 15 cases covering liver, gallbladder, pancreas, and upper GI. Includes oncology, radiation oncology, interventional radiology, hepatobiliary surgery, and pathology.
• Mayo Clinic Partnership: Electronic consult tab with 24-hour turnaround for all WK physicians.
• Clinical Research: Growing pharmaceutical trial program. The group was the number two site in the country for an international liver cancer trial. Four clinical research associates on staff.

Tumor Boards

What the Program Does Not Offer

The group does not perform bone marrow transplant or CAR-T therapy. Patients requiring these treatments are referred to LSU Health (which recently added a strong BMT director), MD Anderson, Baylor, or UT Southwestern. The group has established referral relationships with all of these programs.

Call Structure

Call rotates Q7 among the seven group partners. One physician covers Monday to Monday, then has six weeks off from call. During call weeks, the on-call physician typically runs a half-day clinic and then rounds on inpatient cases, which range from 10 to 35 patients. The group added an APP extender to assist with inpatient volume.

Teaching and Research

Residents from WK's GME programs rotate through the inpatient oncology service. Clinic-based teaching is optional and at each physician's discretion. The group is building its pharmaceutical clinical trial program and views research participation as a meaningful supplement to clinical income.