OncIG – Oncology Interest Group

Officers

Co-Presidents Alyssa Pasvantis & Johnny Kass
Co-Treasurers Payton Bogert & Ethan Kramer
Faculty Advisor Dr. Martina Murphy

Welcome to the Oncology Interest Group!

The mission of the Oncology Interest group (OncIG) is to educate medical students on the dynamic field of oncology. To accomplish this goal, OncIG will encouraging anyone interested to attend educational as well as patient-centered lunch meetings on various topics of oncology. OncIG will also serve to provide a mentoring program for medical students in order to connect with faculty members, as well as raise cancer awareness through volunteer and/or fundraising opportunities.

  • Women’s Health and Cancer
    • Meeting held in conjunction with OBGYN interest group
  • Oncology in Rural and Underserved Alachua County
  • Oncology in Pediatrics
  • Personalized Medicine in Oncology
  • Palliative care and End of Life
  • Bone Marrow Transplants
  • Switching Residencies to become an Oncologist
  • Understanding Clinical Trials and How to Safely Enroll Your Patients
  • Cancer Survivors and Patient Family Panels

What is Oncology?

Oncology is the study of cancer. The three main types of oncologists are medical, surgical, and radiation oncologists.

medical oncologist focuses on the diagnosis and management of cancer. A medical oncologist may have a special interest in certain types of cancer or certain therapies but also has the training and skills for treating all forms of cancer and utilizing all types of therapy.

surgical oncologist is responsible for the surgical aspects of cancer, including biopsies and tumor removal.

Radiation oncology is the medical specialty concerned with prescribing radiation and is distinct from radiology. Radiation may be prescribed by a radiation oncologist with intent to cure, as adjuvant therapy or as palliative treatment. Radiotherapy is the medical use of ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells. Radiation Oncologists can treat a diverse patient population and a variety of cancers. There are different modalities of radiotherapy, most notably photons and protons.

Oncology Residency & Fellowship

For medical oncologists, training consists of a two-year fellowship program following completion of an internal medicine residency. There are currently 14 ACGME-accredited medical oncology fellowship programs in the United States accredited by the ACGME.

For those interested in hematology/medical oncology, training consists of a three-year fellowship following completion of an internal medicine residency. There are currently 134 ACGME-accredited hematology/oncology fellowship programs in the United States.

The path to Radiation Oncology is one of the more competitive roads in medicine. Training consists of a five-year residency training following a clinical PGY-1 year in an accredited graduate medical education institution. Surgical, medical, or flexible internship is suggested. If you have an interest in this field, the best thing to do is get exposure early in medical school. There are currently 87 US training programs.

Mentoring and Shadowing Opportunities

If interested, please contact Cindy Medina or Chu Hsiao for details. If you have a preference as to the type(s) of cancer patient you are interested in working with, please let us know and we will do our best to connect you with the right physician.

Other Resources