Radiation Oncology rotation

[Llenroc]

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I'm mildly interested in Radiation Oncology, and I have it scheduled as my final rotation of medical school.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm having some doubts now. I hear the field is very academic, and reading/presentation/research heavy. Do they give students a hard time, and ask them all kinds of anatomy and tumor questions? I've hardly cracked open a book during med 4, and I'd hate to start now.

I'm scared.

 

[yeasterbunny]

I'm mildly interested in Radiation Oncology, and I have it scheduled as my final rotation of medical school.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I'm having some doubts now. I hear the field is very academic, and reading/presentation/research heavy. Do they give students a hard time, and ask them all kinds of anatomy and tumor questions? I've hardly cracked open a book during med 4, and I'd hate to start now.

I'm scared.

It really depends on your school and the specific program. It is true that the field is very academic but I think most med student rotations are pretty benign. My home program at least is thrilled that students are interested in the field and generally does not give them a very hard time; everyone who rotates through (regardless of their future interests) gets very high marks for showing even the remotest interest in the subject matter.

 

[stephew]

Forget about "getting through" a rotation. if you dont like reading/academic fields, stay away from radonc. its not the field for you. You can't get through a residency without being into the academic side, and a lot of reading, and even if you decide to do something else, being damned with faint praise isn't a great thing on your record.

 

[koolaidkid]

i think rad onc is a great rotation, especially if you plan on doing anything onc related like med onc or surg onc and also for ortho, ent, and neursurg.
I imagine you've already matched since it's your last rotation of year 4. If that's the case, just do it, show up on time, read up on your patients (up to date is sufficient) and you'll probably have to do a presentation at the end and just focus on something that is related to your field (e.g. if you're doing derm you can talk about tx of skin lesions with radn or if peds talk about problems with radn in ped populations, etc).

if you haven't cracked open a book and just plan on passively absorbing during the rotation, you will probably pass but will not get a whole lot out of it and will probably think this field is boring beyond belief. But I think that's true of other fields like surgery too. I would do it because it's a unique opportunity that you probably won't have again. If you haven't matched yet and plan on applying in something else, just work hard and you'll probably do well in the rotation. just don't be disinterested.