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Specialties in Medicine: Radiation Oncology

 

 

 

 

Radiation Oncology:

Radiation oncology is concerned with the generation, conservation, and dissemination of knowledge concerning the causes, prevention, and treatment of cancer with particular emphasis on the role of ionizing radiation. Radiation oncologists employ a variety of treatment modalities, including external beam radiotherapy (photons, electrons, protons, neutrons), radioactive implantations, hyperthermia, and combined modality therapy such as surgery and radiotherapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, biological modifiers and radiotherapy. Radiation therapy is employed for both the curative and palliative treatment of cancer. As a medical specialty that is modality- rather than age- or gender-based, radiation oncologists treat both children and adults, woman and men, and tumors at a wide variety of sites. The most commonly treated cancers are lung, breast, head and neck, prostate, cervix and uterus, and colorectal. There are also a limited number of benign conditions treated with radiotherapy.

Length of Training
5 years, including a PGY-1 year.
 
Prerequisites
PGY-1 year must be spent in internal medicine, family practice, obstetrics/gynecology, surgery or surgical specialties, pediatrics, a categorical radiation oncology year, or a transitional year program.

 

Physician Compensation

Academic Medicine
  Low
(25th Percentile)		 Median High
(75th Percentile)
 
Early Career $250,000 $294,000 $352,000
Mid to late Career $310,000 $375,000 $431,000

 

Match Data

ACGME Statistics
Total number of residency programs in 2010:   83


NRMP Statistics
PGY-1 2008 2009 2010
Number of Positions Offered:
Number of U.S. Allopathic Seniors:
Number of Total Applicants:
Positions Per U.S. Allopathic Senior:
Positions Per Total Applicants:
Number of Positions Filled by U.S. Allopathic Seniors (%):
Number of Positions Filled, Total Applicants (%):
Number of Unfilled Positions:
15
101
108
0.1
0.1
13 (86.7)
15 (100)
0
15
106
111
0.1
0.1
15 (100)
15 (100)
0
15
116
129
0.1
0.1
14 (93.3)
15 (100)
0
       
PGY-2 2008 2009 2010
Number of Positions Offered:
Total Number of U.S. Allopathic Seniors:
Number of Total Applicants:
Positions Per U.S. Allopathic Senior:
Positions Per Total Applicants:
Number of Positions Filled by U.S. Allopathic Seniors (%):
Number of Positions Filled by Total applicants (%):
Number of Unfilled Positions:
129
165
196
0.8
0.7
112 (86.8)
121 (93.8)
8
141
167
199
0.8
0.7
121 (85.8)
129 (91.5)
12
142
173
210
0.8
0.7
123 (86.6)
135 (95.1)
7
USMLE Scores and Residency Applicant Data
U. S. Seniors

Matched
(n=134)

Did Not Match
(n=21)
1. Mean number of contiguous ranks
10.3
3.7
2. Mean number of distinct specialties ranked
1.6
1.8
3. Mean USMLE Step 1 score
238
228
4. Mean USMLE Step 2 score
241
218
5. Mean number of research experiences
3.8
3.6
6. Mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications
8
5.2
7. Mean number of work experiences
2.4
1.6
8. Mean number of volunteer experiences
5.1
3.3
9. Percentage who are AOA members
35.1
9.5
10. Percentage who graduated from one of the 40 U.S. medical schools with the highest NIH funding
54.5
38.1
11. Percentage who have Ph.D. degree
21.6
19
12. Percentage who have another graduate degree
9.7
0

 

 

 

Sources:

Data and profiles adapted from the following sources

American Board of Medical Specialties' "Guide to Physician Specialties" and the Pathway Evaluation Program for Medical Professionals' "Specialty Profiles," 2003

The AAMC careers in medicine website specialty pages.

AAMC Report on Medical School Faculty Salaries 2008-2009. Washington, DC:  Association of American Medical Colleges; 2010.

National Resident Matching Program (2008, 2009, 2010). Results and Data: 2008 Match, Results and Data: 2009, and Results and Data: 2010 Match. Washington, DC: National Resident Matching Program

National Resident Matching Program/Association of American Medical Colleges. (2009). Charting Outcomes in the Match: Characteristics of Applicants Who Matched to Their Preferred Specialty in the 2009 NRMP Main Residency Match, Washington, DC: National Resident Matching Program/Association of American Medical Colleges.

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education

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