... but what does a radiation oncologist DO?

[j dizzle]

So, I've diligently searched this forum, and although I found a lot about general comparisons between specialties (i.e. rad oncs treat with radiation instead of chemo) and descriptions of new technologies in the field, I still find myself wondering what a radiation oncologist really does. What is a day in the life of a radiation oncologist like? Is radiation oncology a clinic-based specialty like neurology where you spend most of your day chatting with patients and evaluating the success of their treatment? Is it like surgery where your main role is performing procedures and you only use your clinic time to decide which procedure needs to be done or evaluate the success of the procedure you just did? Or is it something entirely different? When people talk about gamma-knife, for example, is this a technique that the radiation oncologist is trained to perform, or is it just a treatment that he/she orders and is performed by a tech?

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[stephew]

i wrote a chapter in thh book ultimate guide to medical specialities addressing this.

 

[j dizzle]

I'm not sure what that book is or if I'm supposed to know about it. Anyway, I found your chapter cited in another article when I searched "Ultimate Guide". Thanks!

 

[stephew]

hope it helps.. good luck.

 

[stephew]

hmmm i was looking for a site where a guy basically put the chapter (of the first edition) up on his web site. (copyright issues aside) Turns out the a careers web page at NWU quotes me (but misattributes it to the editor of the book) in the radonc section. neat.

http://www.medschool.northwestern.e...ling/career/specialty/radiation-oncology.html