Alternative Career Interests

[sunealoneal]

I've posted here a few times and have gotten wonderful advice.

I was advised by a couple people early on to make sure I have an alternative interest in mind, especially since I'm a DO student. By most objective means I think (or at least I hope) I'm decently on track. I have a poster presentation this January and at least a couple possible small 1st author publications in the pipeline before I start my 3rd year.

But it seems like it'd be prudent of me to consider other fields, especially since I have no idea how Step 1 will go. So I am curious about what other fields people who ended up in radiation oncology were interested in. There are almost definitely many features of other fields that I haven't considered yet. Perhaps I can position myself to be competitive for another field as well so I'm not left in a jam later on?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Voodoo Chile]

Take a look into radiology and heme onc. Both of these fields have similarities to rad onc (i.e. oncology patient care/research focus in heme onc and imaging/technology in rads). Going the IM/heme onc or radiology as a DO applicant these days seems very attainable as a plan B, especially if you have board scores and research to match in rad onc. Take a look into these specialties during your third year and keep an open mind. Good luck!

 

[medgator]

There isn't anything quite like rad onc.... maybe IR with an onc focus. I was originally interested in heme onc but at the end of the day, there is still a lot of heme and you're still an internist that manages chemo toxicity. You read reports rather than look at images much of the time, etc

 

[sunealoneal]

I suppose there will be a point during my 3rd year when I may have to decide between taking a year off to pursue additional rad onc research or convincing myself that these other fields will catch my interest the same way. Who knows, maybe once I get thrown into the clinical world next year my interests will shift completely!

For those who did secure a year-long research externship, are there any particular milestones I should be keeping in mind? When/how do people apply for those? The rad oncs in my town did not take that route so I'm a bit clueless on how to secure that.

 

[thecarbonionangle]

Thought about heme onc but i did not enjoy internal medicine very much (this intern year has been such a confirmation of my suspicions!). Med onc is cool but heme didn't interest me at all, so doing medicine then a fellowship with half heme did not seem like my thing. I wanted to see patients so rads was pretty much out the window. I was far more interested in surgery than I was in medicine (surg onc, uro onc, ENT). For now don't give up on what you want and just position yourself for success by doing well on step 1 plus research.

Ultimately do something you can see yourself doing for decades to come. If rad onc doesn't work out try to find something where you can be happy. I think being happy in what you do is one of the most important things.

 

[SRC1987]

I suppose there will be a point during my 3rd year when I may have to decide between taking a year off to pursue additional rad onc research or convincing myself that these other fields will catch my interest the same way. Who knows, maybe once I get thrown into the clinical world next year my interests will shift completely!

For those who did secure a year-long research externship, are there any particular milestones I should be keeping in mind? When/how do people apply for those? The rad oncs in my town did not take that route so I'm a bit clueless on how to secure that.

If you're a second year right now and already have productive research in the works or set up I doubt a research year will make much of a difference. A research year can be most useful when students discover rad onc later and don't have time to get abstracts and publications done by early 4th year. Your main priority should be to do well on step 1. Try to set up your third year rotations with things you may be interested in earlier than later and see how they compare with your interest in radiation oncology.

 

[Mandelin Rain]

Surgical Oncology is probably the closest thing to Radiation Oncology from a macro level. Primary concerns being curative treatment, locoregional control, and organ functionality post-treatment. Both spend time in clinic with patients and time out of clinic doing "other stuff". The "other stuff" couldn't be more different, but the basic premise of the job is quite similar, as opposed to Diagnostic Radiology which is nothing at all like RadOnc.

 

[sunealoneal]

I appreciate all the advice. I'm in the process of setting up some research opportunities during my clinical years, but in the mean time I'll (try to) stop worrying about this and focus on Step 1.