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Why are so many radiation oncology spots unfilled?


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I'm an incoming first year med student, and I was starting to look at specialties that might interest me. Radiation Oncology was one that caught my attention, it seems great: ability to directly help patients, high compensation, 9-5 work hours, and a lot of physics/cool technology involved (which appeals to me as I did a physics major in undergrad).

 

However, when I look at the first round match for carms, almost half of the residency spots were unfilled! Is there something about this specialty I am missing that scares people away?

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exactly :) there is some serious job market issues there. The question at this point though is will there still be in about 10 years, as that is when you would begin to start practising.

 

Exactly - so hard to tell and thus I am trying not to let this choose my path for me. I am also very interested in Rad Onc, or perhaps Interventional Radiology.

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Terrible job market both north and south of the border. Actually there ARE jobs for rad oncs and in fact there's a lot of demand for them south of the border, however all those jobs are in buttf*ck nowhere and the undesirability of the openings contributes to the perception that rad onc has a terrible job outlook. As rad oncs who've gone through the job search told me, go into the field if you love it and you'll find a job, but unlike other fields you have to mentally steer yourself for the possibility that you might never end up working at a desirable location of your choice. And unlike other fields, rad onc's job market has been an issue for decades simply because its a tiny field.

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exactly :) there is some serious job market issues there. The question at this point though is will there still be in about 10 years, as that is when you would begin to start practising.

 

Not only is the job market difficult to judge in 10 years, but so is the compensation. In the latest OMR (http://omr.oma.org/), the OMA chief economist argues that Rad Oncs are the most overvalued specialty. They will likely be at the top of the OMA list to cut compensation for going forward (or, at least, receive less of an increase than everyone else).

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  • 1 year later...

Not only is the job market difficult to judge in 10 years, but so is the compensation. In the latest OMR (http://omr.oma.org/), the OMA chief economist argues that Rad Oncs are the most overvalued specialty. They will likely be at the top of the OMA list to cut compensation for going forward (or, at least, receive less of an increase than everyone else).

 

Can anyone confirm this? I can't find the article.

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I can't find a link to the report, but if you search through the OMA you might be able to find it. Yes, according to the OMA, rad onc is the most over valued specialty. I wouldn't expect to see any major cuts. It's a great gig - job market is rough, a fellowship is required (most often without a promise of a job at the end) as is flexibility in where you want to work/live. Since it is an extremely small specialty, it is a feast/famine job market. Who knows where it will be in 5-10 years (likely better, according to long-term forecasts).

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