I want to be an oncologist but I was wondering what that required. How long do I have to go to med school?

Question

Would I have a mandantory internship and how easy will it be to get a job? Is the job common, and what is the general description besides working with cancer? Also- can I work for a private practice or is everything government owned?

Answer 1

Here's what you do:

1) University. 4 years. Majoring in life science with a core of heavy duty classes (e.g. biology, chemistry, etc.). Get good grates.

2) Take MCAT exam. Get good grade.

3) Med school. 4 years. You are an "MD" after you graduate, but you are not allowed to practice medicine yet as you still have to finish one year as an Intern. You now find a job at a hospital as an intern, which is relatively easy if you are willing to relocated - but can be luck of the draw if you have a specific place you want to live in because vacancy rates vary from place to place.

4) Intern/Resident. 3 years. This is where you cut your teeth at a hospital, learning the ropes. The first year is the "Intern" year where you can practice medicine under supervision and prescribe medicine. The second year is where you will start to specialize from a normal "MD" to oncology. Once you finish your third year, you can go private practice or work for someone else.

5) Practice. This is where you are an "oncologist", 11 years later and probably around $250k in debt. However, you should be making $150k/year (without adjustments for 11 years of inflation). Oncology is not that common since it is a "specialist" doctoral path. Having said that, most major hospitals have oncology wards and need several oncologists.

Oncology jobs will be in different hospitials (e.g. private or government), depending on which country you live in. The US is predominantly a private business with some hospitals that are usually run by counties. Think private "good", county "bad". County hospitals tend to soak up all the really unfortunate and uninsured.

Oncology is one of the most gut wrenching jobs at first. You first diagnose people's condition - whether benign, pre-cancerous or cancerous. You also are the one to tell someone that they are going to die. It is difficult because you have to be human enough to deliver the news gently, but hard enough where it doesn't affect your professionalism or destroy your soul.

Once you have diagnosed the cancer, it is a matter of treatment - either pharmacologically, radiologically or surgically. Treatment and tracking as cancer can be either quick or very long developing. You generally work in teams, with a heirarchy of doctors and a support staff of nurses, technicians and administrative staff. As a doctor, you're at the top. But a junior doctor starts at the bottom of the top. As a junior doctor, you're going to get the easy cases, undesirable hours, weekend and holiday "on-call" status.

Oncology is a high paying job with a growing need due to shifting demographics. However, it is a long, hard slog and which the end is something where you face death every day. For the oncologist I know, he says that it is worthwhile because it is a battle worth fighting and sometimes you do win.

Answer 2

Years and Years LOL...Its the normal 4 years of med school and the n you have to specialize and I think thats a couple more years...Yes you will have to do an internship. Many of the major cancer institutions are state owned. I work for MD Anderson Cancer Center which is a state institution and I think that the one in New york is too...You will probably not find too many oncologists in private practice, most of them work in research hospitals, since cancer is an ongoing battle to find a cure. It will definately be easy to get a job if at the place you choose to intern at.

Answer 3

You'll need to attend the standard 4yr med school and then of course you'll need to complete your residency and then you will probably want to do a fellowship in your field. I work for Norton Hospital in Louisville, KY and we are right at this moment preparing to build a Cancer Resource Hospital. We are also the only hospital in the area besides the Brown Cancer Center, which is a part of the University of Louisville, that specializes in oncology. Yes we have group practices that are owned by the hospital, and those that are not. Norton Hospital is the largest healthcare provider in the state of Kentucky and we also have the only level one pediatric trauma center in the tri-state area, Kosair Children's Hospital. And yes, Kosair specializes in pediatric oncology. I think that you have a lot of options available to you. I also believe you should carefully consider where you choose to complete your residency. If oncology is your field of choice, then obviously you want to choose a school and area of the country that caters to oncology. I also hear there is a hospital in Texas that is doing groundbreaking work in the field of oncology, it called M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. I'll list some websites for you to check out. I hope this helps.

Answer 4

There are thirteen clinical oncology training schemes in England, as well as schemes in each of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. All follow the same curriculum and deliver structured training in both the cancer basic sciences and the management of malignant disease. During training most trainees rotate from the main (base) hospital to other hospitals in order to gain a wide experience of practice.

Answer 5

4 years of med school like every other MD (assuming you get thru it in 4) and at least another several years for the speciality..

Yes on the internship..

There are plenty of private practice oncologists.. at least in the US anyway..

Answer 6

government owned is the least likely, usually work in a private hospital, but many are in private practice or with a group of associates.....plan on ten years of school

Answer 7

Look at about 11-12 years of school for a good, promising job.

Answer 8

im sorry i dont know