Surgical Oncology Question

[osumc2014]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Could someone please explain the process of becoming a surgical oncologist starting in 4th year med school? thanks!

 

[Smurfette]

Could someone please explain the process of becoming a surgical oncologist starting in 4th year med school? thanks!

Do surgery residency (5 yrs).
2 years of research during residency (usually between PGY2 and PGY3 years) is basically standard for surg onc applicants.
Do surg-onc fellowship (minimum 2 more years, or more, depending on depth and extent of research, and program).

So on average, at least 9 years of post graduate training before finishing.

Also, Breast Oncology (breast surgery) fellowships are different than Surg Onc fellowships (which does include breast), but both are under the guise of the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) if you do an internet search for more information.

 

[osumc2014]

Do surgery residency (5 yrs).
2 years of research during residency (usually between PGY2 and PGY3 years) is typical/highly advantageous for surg onc applicants.
Do surg-onc fellowship (minimum 2 more years, or more, depending on depth and extent of research).

So on average, at least 9 years of post graduate training before finishing.

Also, Breast Oncology (breast surgery) fellowships are different than Surg Onc fellowships (which does include breast), but both are under the guise of the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) if you do an internet search for more information.

wow that is a lot of training! Do general surgeons who do lots of tumor removal consider themselves surg oncologists even if they aren't trained so?

 

[Smurfette]

wow that is a lot of training! Do general surgeons who do lots of tumor removal consider themselves surg oncologists even if they aren't trained so?

Most general surgeons do oncology cases including colorectal cancers, breast cancers, etc.

I do not believe most general surgeons would call themselves a "surgical oncologist" without a fellowship. However, they may list it as an "interest" or say that they do surgical oncology cases. Some of the old school guys who do almost exclusively big whacks and have for years without being fellowship-trained may call themselves or be known as a surg oncologist....but this is a different animal than the average surgeon who happens to do a fair amount of oncology calling himself a surg onc.

 

[osumc2014]

Most general surgeons do oncology cases including colorectal cancers, breast cancers, etc.

I do not believe most general surgeons would call themselves a "surgical oncologist" without a fellowship. However, they may list it as an "interest" or say that they do surgical oncology cases. Some of the old school guys who do almost exclusively big whacks and have for years without being fellowship-trained may call themselves or be known as a surg oncologist....but this is a different animal than the average surgeon who happens to do a fair amount of oncology calling himself a surg onc.

so the fellowship is very new? I did some research it seems insanely competitive just in terms of spots

 

[Smurfette]

Not that new. But the percentage of people overall actually doing fellowships 15-20+ years ago was much less, too. It traditionally has been extremely competitive. However, it's also a pretty self-selecting group of applicants. Not many people try for surg onc without a pretty impressive background.