GU exams

[j dizzle]

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I just finished training for genitourinary exams. Not a very pleasant experience. Do rad onc's do these exams frequently, maybe for patients with prostate cancer or cervical cancer? I'd rather not spend a significant portion of my career doing GU exams...

 

[medgator]

I just finished training for genitourinary exams. Not a very pleasant experience. Do rad onc's do these exams frequently, maybe for patients with prostate cancer or cervical cancer? I'd rather not spend a significant portion of my career doing GU exams...

Rad oncs treat malignancy in many different sites, including GU and GYN. You will have to be comfortable doing pelvic/rectal examinations on your gyn onc patients, and rectal exams on patients you see with rectal cancer, anal cancer, and prostate cancer.

The sub-site physical examination is very important rad onc, not only during the initial evaluation, but also in follow-up as you assess a patient's response to treatment.

 

[MHotep]

Most Radiation Oncologists are sub-specialized to specific organ systems, this is especially true in academic centers. So if your sub-specialty is Gyn or Prostate, then yes, that will be a ROUTINE part of your focused physical exam. Likewise, a CNS tumor expert has to do a full neuro exam on most consults.

If you go into private practice and don't necessarily "sub-specialize", then you can expect to do routine GU exams given the prevalence of prostate and gynecologic malignancies.

HOWEVER...if you are just learning to do the GU exam, don't let your intial experience deter you. I doubt that most cardiologists mastered auscultation of murmurs the first time they donned a stethoscope.

 

[stephew]

you have to do them, do them quite a bit, and do them well. That's doctoring. Most find that after a while its "clinical" enough not to bother them.

 

[j dizzle]

Most Radiation Oncologists are sub-specialized to specific organ systems, this is especially true in academic centers. So if your sub-specialty is Gyn or Prostate, then yes, that will be a ROUTINE part of your focused physical exam. Likewise, a CNS tumor expert has to do a full neuro exam on most consults.

Well then, CNS it is!!

 

[Gfunk6]

Do rad onc's do these exams frequently, maybe for patients with prostate cancer or cervical cancer? I'd rather not spend a significant portion of my career doing GU exams...

You will spend a significant portion of a Rad Onc residency doing rectal exams. Since prostate cancer is very common in the US you will be seeing these patients often. In addition, rectal exams are a critical component of patients with anal/rectal cancers.

Regardless of your subsequent sub-specialization you will definitely perform 100+ GU exams during a typical residency.