H
hannah
Does anybody know anything about radiation oncology? It seems to me that it is easy to get in and the hours are good w/o much night calls. I wonder why not many people go into it.
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S
Stinky T
Hi Hannah,
Rad Onc is a very competitive specialty to match into at this time. This is due in part to the limited number of positions available; only 97 spots were available through the NRMP in 2002.
Rad Onc is a very competitive specialty to match into at this time. This is due in part to the limited number of positions available; only 97 spots were available through the NRMP in 2002.
H
hannah
In my school all the spots are filled by IMGs with not so good board scores in the past 2-3 years. I wonder why.
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can someone talk more about this field? it sounds v.cool. more patient contact than radiologist, but less than internist. also, looks v.cutting edge. does anyone know the lifestyle? just curious...
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Rad oncs have a great deal of patient contact with a lot of high tech radiology and physics as well. I rotated in this for a month in 4th year.
Basically, most rad oncs spend about 2/3 of their time in clinic. They see mostly cancer patients (breast, prostrate, advanced cervical, pancreatic, testicular, bone marrow ablation for leukemias, and others) who were referred to them by a surgeon or heme/onc doc. They do a initial H&P on these patients, determine if radiation therapy will be beneficial (usually the answer is yes). They then set up the patient for a simulation in a specialized x-ray machine and usually get planning CT for everything but breast CA. Using this info they plan out radiation windows and dosages to maximize the amount of radiatin going to the tumor while minimizing dose to other tissues.
The patient will then start a course of radiation lasting anywhere from 2 weeks to 30 weeks. Rad therapists give the radiation and the rad onc doc will usually see the patient in clinic once a week to make sure everything is going ok (there are lots of possible side effects). Once rad treatment is over, they will follow up with the patient for up to 5 years.
The lifestyle is great in that the call is usually not too bad (few rad emergencies such as Cauda Equina syndrome due to tumor). Generally the patients Onclogist or surgeon deals with hospitalizations and emergencies. Basically it is regular 8-5 days. The pay is great, over 200K on average.
Recently they are doing more procedures to give brachytherapy (radiation source inserted directly into or next to tumor) to cervical CA, prostate CA, breast CA. Brachytherapy of cardiac stents is also assisted by rad oncs (they just run the radiation part, not the cath). They can also do the new gamma knife radiation tx of brain tumors (not really a knife, more of a focusing of 100s of radiation beams).
Its a great field with a lot of rewards but also a lot of very sick patients for whom radiation is the last hope of a few extra months. You have to be able to deal with the fact that many of your patients will die. It is also a very research oriented field with new studies coming out all the time.
Competition for spots is very fierce with research and personal contacts being a key factor in this very small field. I'm surprised to see so many IMGs at the program you mention, but I am sure there is something in their history that sets them above the rest. I would have considered this field if I had known more about it prior to my senior year. If interested, try tagging along or doing a rotation to get more of a feel.
Basically, most rad oncs spend about 2/3 of their time in clinic. They see mostly cancer patients (breast, prostrate, advanced cervical, pancreatic, testicular, bone marrow ablation for leukemias, and others) who were referred to them by a surgeon or heme/onc doc. They do a initial H&P on these patients, determine if radiation therapy will be beneficial (usually the answer is yes). They then set up the patient for a simulation in a specialized x-ray machine and usually get planning CT for everything but breast CA. Using this info they plan out radiation windows and dosages to maximize the amount of radiatin going to the tumor while minimizing dose to other tissues.
The patient will then start a course of radiation lasting anywhere from 2 weeks to 30 weeks. Rad therapists give the radiation and the rad onc doc will usually see the patient in clinic once a week to make sure everything is going ok (there are lots of possible side effects). Once rad treatment is over, they will follow up with the patient for up to 5 years.
The lifestyle is great in that the call is usually not too bad (few rad emergencies such as Cauda Equina syndrome due to tumor). Generally the patients Onclogist or surgeon deals with hospitalizations and emergencies. Basically it is regular 8-5 days. The pay is great, over 200K on average.
Recently they are doing more procedures to give brachytherapy (radiation source inserted directly into or next to tumor) to cervical CA, prostate CA, breast CA. Brachytherapy of cardiac stents is also assisted by rad oncs (they just run the radiation part, not the cath). They can also do the new gamma knife radiation tx of brain tumors (not really a knife, more of a focusing of 100s of radiation beams).
Its a great field with a lot of rewards but also a lot of very sick patients for whom radiation is the last hope of a few extra months. You have to be able to deal with the fact that many of your patients will die. It is also a very research oriented field with new studies coming out all the time.
Competition for spots is very fierce with research and personal contacts being a key factor in this very small field. I'm surprised to see so many IMGs at the program you mention, but I am sure there is something in their history that sets them above the rest. I would have considered this field if I had known more about it prior to my senior year. If interested, try tagging along or doing a rotation to get more of a feel.
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I have heard that a Radiation Oncologist must be officially boarded in Physics as part of certification. Is this true and is it mostly nuclear physics or is it all aspects of physics, such as mechanics, etc. The rad onc docs are brilliant that I have seen in action. This is one field where geniouses are needed.
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Yes, both rad oncs and diagnostic radiology residents must pass a physics board exam. I don't know the exact topics on this test but it covers only the aspects of physics involved in their respective fields. This includes nuclear physics as well as the physics of different imaging modalities (MRI stuff is notoriously difficult). For diagnostic radiology this knowledge will help the radiologist in understanding the variety of artifacts and findings on studies ranging from ultrasound to MRI. For rad onc, there is likely more emphasis on different forms of radiation used, how it affects tissues, etc. I'm not sure about rad onc but diagnostic rads must pass the physics board, written boards (in 4th year) and oral boards (end of final year) in order to become board certified.
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thanx for your responses everyone. my husband actually went to a rad oncologist when had testicular cancer. the radiation worked but it made him v.sick. but overall, it was a better option than chemo. he had a great doctor who was nice but tough when my husband decided to not eat due to nausea.
H
hannah
I heard that it was very lucrative 10 years ago and that reccently new residents are having problem finding jobs and are not paid that much (starting 90-120K). I heard this from an IMG. I don't know if it is true for US grads. Does anybody know?
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