Radiation Oncology Questions

[DarksideAllstar]

I will be starting medical school this fall and was hoping that some of you out there who have secured a spot in this field could brief me on how competitive it is.
Some questions I have are:
1) What is the avg Step 1 score for people who match?
2) Does the med school you attend have a big affect on your match? (smaller school at a slight disadvantage to larger, more well-known schools?)
3) Did you participate in extensive research while you were in medical school? (ie, Do a one or two year NIH or HH research fellowship?)
I have been told by many people that this field is extremely competitive, so I would like to hear first hand from you guys. Any input is much appreciated! Thanks a bunch.

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[AnnK]

Hi -

Im a third year who is interested in Rad onc. i can't answer your questions very specifically. I think that it is such a small feild that alot of the info Ive gotten is anecdotal. I hear that research is pretty helpful - esp in a applicable feild. If you are really serious I think it would be a good idea to spend a year doing research in a related feild. As for board scores, I dont really have any numbers, but the most competitive residencies seem to like 235ish and higher. Maybe someone else has more info on this. I would be interested too. It is an advantage to know that you are interested early so you can get lots of exposure. Also, radonc might not be quite so competitive in 4 years. Who knows?

Ann

 

[DarksideAllstar]

Thanks for your help AnnK- anyone else with any input would be very much appreciated!

 

[medstudent4]

I'm applying for rad onc this year...and i can tell you that applications are increasing every year. I have been told that the percentage of applicants that match are the lowest of any field simply because of the small number of spots available in the match (less than 100), and the recently high number of applicants (more than 250). Board scores are very important for some programs, but not all. I believe that your background is extremely important, and evidence of early interest of the field would help tons. Do research! That helps a lot since treatment decisions are made on evidence-based medicine. That's great that you know so early that you're interested in the field, since you can gear yourself to setting up a really good application. Another tip....when you have opportunities for rotations, make sure you do them at the programs you really want to go to, and impress the hell out of them...many programs don't even go through any of the applications they recieve, and just pick someone they liked that rotated through their dept....and hence, take them outside of the match. Any other advice, feel free to email me or send another post. Good luck!