Switching into Rad onc

[DrAwsome]

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Hi rad onc community. So I've posted about this before, and I'm a little frustrated to be honest. I have recently (less than a year ago) become very interested in rad onc, previously I was all out derm. I matched to a derm spot outside the match, but i am realistically not interested in the field anymore.

I would really like to do rad onc for a number of reasons, but I am having difficulty getting in. Clearly I never really knew about the field in med school so I don't have research or stuff like that. I applied for one outside the match position, but I don't even think my application was really reviewed.

How do I go about making this switch? Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. Is it impossible to do this at this point?

 

[mdphdgirl]

It seems like you are a little impatient to get into the field. I understand that you want to be able to change immediately, but consider that it took you a year to apply for your previous residency choices. It is likely to take a while to get into a rad onc position. Even though there are spots outside the match, there aren't a huge number available so you need to be patient.

I would suggest that you try to gain contacts in the field and do a rotation if possible. Other than that, I would apply to as many positions as you can. If necessary, would you consider doing a year of rad onc research and apply in the match again?