going into rad onc from a med school without a rad onc dept?

[The Empiricist]

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hey everyone,

im going to start MS 1 in the fall and am thinking about rad onc. if i go to a med school without a rad onc residency program, how much will it hurt my chances of matching in rad onc should i choose to apply for a residency in rad onc when the time comes? will doing away rotations help much? thanks!

 

[Gfunk6]

If you don't have a home Rad Onc program it will hurt you, BIG TIME. This can be mitigated somewhat by doing away rotations. But then again, almost everyone does aways regardless of a presnce of home department.

It seems a bit silly to choose a medical school based on your chances for Rad Onc because, statistically, you are highly likely to change your mind. However, no home Rad Onc program = difficulty matching.

 

[stephew]

well hang on... a first year who already aware that their interested in radonc means that yes, there is a downside, but its not so insurmountable. But obviously yes you have to do away rotations. no one is going to look at you if you say you want to do radonc without having done a rotation...?

 

[The Empiricist]

thanks for the responses.

i know i may very well not be interetsed in rad onc anymore by the time im applying for residencies, but im just asking because i don't want to unnecessarily close any doors on myself.

im wondering, what is it about not having a home rad onc program that will hurt me so much? i can do rad onc rotations elsewhere, and LORs from rad onc faculty can be obtained from those places.

 

[ghgi8]

As I'm sure you are becoming aware, RadOnc is somewhat competitive. Residency directors place high value on quality research experience in the field, including publications, prior to application submission. You must recognizes your current advantages and disadvantages... For one, you are a first year and likely have found an interest in the field long before others who you will be competing with. You can therefore take advantage of any off time (spring/summer/winter breaks) to get involved. You will likely have community radiation oncologists who you can shadow. If you're lucky some may have some data sitting around to be published. Sift through this forum, there are lots of tips and resources at your disposal. Good luck in medical school and do well on Step 1.

 

[MD Helper]

For what it is worth: Good friend of ours with competitive scores/grades, lots of research (1st author on numerous papers/projects), lots of aways, poster at ASTRO, plenty of interviews, etc, etc...no home program...didn't match this year.

Pays to have your eyes open...

 

[ABCXRT]

Of course you'll need to do away rotations to know if you really like the field enough to make a career of it.

If you decide it's really what you want, you can certainly overcome the disadvantage of not having a home program. I believe the disadvantage is mainly one of logistics, which can be overcome with time and/or money. Some may argue that have a home chairman be your advocate is important, but I think that's a minor factor. Everything else a home program provides, and maybe even that, you can get at another institution. You just have to decide if it's worth the time and effort (it may even take you an extra year to graduate). Ultimately I think not having a home program could be used to your advantage if you play your cards right.

There are lots of great career paths in medicine. Keep and open mind and good luck.

 

[The Empiricist]

Thanks for the helpful replies, everybody. Judging from what you guys have said, it looks like if I want to do radonc from this school, I'll have to start early and crank out some good research to get some pubs and demonstrate some early commitment to the field. This is in addition to the aways, good LORs from those aways, great grades, and great board scores that everyone else trying to match will have. Even if I can pull this off, I'm guessing I'm pretty much shut out of the top-tier programs.

So, it sounds like the deck is pretty stacked against me. Is trying to transfer to a school with a home rad onc program possible? Are schools receptive to people transferring for this reason? I'm guessing I'll have to do a lot to show some commitment to the field before I can attempt to do this.

 

[radonc]

no need to transfer...2 years ago, someone from nebraska got into wash u (or a top tier). 2 people from umdnj-univ hospital got into mdacc and michigan. this past year,

this year, someone from st georges and tulane matched at ny methodist, someone from brown matched at penn, someone from mc georgia matched at case western, someone from st louis matched at wash u, south florida at uab, unv toledo at UF, should i keep going?

would it be nice to have a home radonc dept? sure
is it a necessity? no

what you need to do is crush your step 1 exam, get good grades, and do research. then during your 3/4 year, do some away rotations at a big name place and something more reasonable.

 

[radonc]

For what it is worth: Good friend of ours with competitive scores/grades, lots of research (1st author on numerous papers/projects), lots of aways, poster at ASTRO, plenty of interviews, etc, etc...no home program...didn't match this year.

Pays to have your eyes open...

i have the same friend who didnt match who went to a school with a top residency program...

 

[Pewl]

i have the same friend who didnt match who went to a school with a top residency program...

There are times that I see not having a home program to be kinda useful. Providing that you are able and willing to do away rotations, of course. Not having a home program but having a home department means that you can rotate through there and use it as "practice" for other away rotations without worrying about grades.