Do I have a chance?

[ex20]

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Hi,

I'm an MS4 who is considering rad onc as a specialty among other fields. To be honest, I'm a little intimidated by the competitiveness. I was wondering what my chances are. A little info below.

Top 20 med school
Step I 240
3rd year: Honors in 2 rotations but pass in the rest (my school does have high pass)
4th year: Honors in 1 rotation, high pass in sub-internship
Research: Oncology research, ethics research, public health research on HIV/AIDS, Fulbright fellowship on HIV/AIDS

I will be taking a year off to do a 1 year Fulbright fellowship on HIV/AIDS so I have some time to make this decision. I'm currently debating between psychiatry, medicine and rad onc. I'm attracted to the rich psychsocial aspect of rad onc (end-of-life issues, etc) as well as the balanced lifestyle.

I would deeply appreciate any honest feedback about my chances. I am going to shadow a rad onc attending before I leave for my fellowship. If I enjoy it, I will probably do a full rotation when I arrive back in the US next year.

Thanks in advance!

 

[staphaureus]

Hi,

I'm an MS4 who is considering rad onc as a specialty among other fields. To be honest, I'm a little intimidated by the competitiveness. I was wondering what my chances are. A little info below.

Top 20 med school
Step I 240
3rd year: Honors in 2 rotations but pass in the rest (my school does have high pass)
4th year: Honors in 1 rotation, high pass in sub-internship
Research: Oncology research, ethics research, public health research on HIV/AIDS, Fulbright fellowship on HIV/AIDS

I will be taking a year off to do a 1 year Fulbright fellowship on HIV/AIDS so I have some time to make this decision. I'm currently debating between psychiatry, medicine and rad onc. I'm attracted to the rich psychsocial aspect of rad onc (end-of-life issues, etc) as well as the balanced lifestyle.

I would deeply appreciate any honest feedback about my chances. I am going to shadow a rad onc attending before I leave for my fellowship. If I enjoy it, I will probably do a full rotation when I arrive back in the US next year.

Thanks in advance!

Sorry, don't have your answer.. but I find it scary that your whole description is very similar to me.. only I'm a year (or 2?) behind... but I only expect to get a couple of honors in 3rd yr. It'd be interesting to see how you turn out, as I am thinking about taking a yr to do research to. I was so surprise when finding out about this Radonc residency, it's like everything I want in one package (probably too good to be true) Good luck!

I asked a very similar question recently, maybe you'll find it helpful reading through there also.:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=5432890#post5432890

 

[ex20]

Yeah, we definitely seem to be in the same boat. I'm still undecided if I even want to pursue rad onc... I'll keep you updated 🙂

 

[IndyXRT]

I certainly think you have a chance. As I've said before, I don't personally believe that grades (even 3rd/4th year rotation grades) are really all that important.

For you, I think the most important thing is to decide what you really want. My impression (and this is just my impression) is that, when applying to a competitive specialty (or any specialty, for that matter), it helps if you are genuinely interested in that specialty (rather than trying to decide if it might be something you want to do). Shadowing a radonc is a great start. Then ask yourself: "do I want to take care of cancer patients?" If the answer is a resounding yes, then radonc can be a very rewarding specialty. If that isn't really what you're looking for, then radonc may not be right for you.