Radiation oncologist moving to the US

[mambo2021]

Hello everyone,
I have a question on behalf of my wife, who is a Venezuelan doctor currently in her 4th and final year of a radiotherapy "posgrado," or postgraduate specialization course. We live in Venezuela but will be moving to Texas in 2022. She graduated medical school in Venezuela in 2011, then practiced family medicine for 7 years before changing career paths and entering her current program. She is very interested in continuing to work in radiation oncology.

My question is whether this seems possible and/or advisable to SDN members. From reading the forum I know the job market is very difficult right now; however, my wife truly loves the field, and we are not sure how many years we will spend in the U.S., so this isn't a deal breaker (U.S. training is looked upon extremely favorably in Latin America, and we will move back here before too long, so she if she completed residency she would likely find a position she liked outside of the U.S.). Further, the chance to study and learn in the U.S. is genuinely a goal in and of itself.

The difficulty is more in understanding the mechanics and requirements of matching, and deciding if it is worth pursuing versus other specialties which may be less interesting but easier/more practical to enter. I am a U.S. citizen but not in the medical field. From what I've read, she would have to take the STEP exams and find some kind of clinical rotation to join (probably having to pay for the experience), and then match into both a transition year and a RadOnc program simultaneously. I've also seen the statistics showing very, very few numbers of IMGs being accepted into RadOnc residencies. Does it even make sense to try?

If anyone has a similar experience, or has any advice or insights, I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

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[elementaryschooleconomics]

Hello everyone,
I have a question on behalf of my wife, who is a Venezuelan doctor currently in her 4th and final year of a radiotherapy "posgrado," or postgraduate specialization course. We live in Venezuela but will be moving to Texas in 2022. She graduated medical school in Venezuela in 2011, then practiced family medicine for 7 years before changing career paths and entering her current program. She is very interested in continuing to work in radiation oncology.

My question is whether this seems possible and/or advisable to SDN members. From reading the forum I know the job market is very difficult right now; however, my wife truly loves the field, and we are not sure how many years we will spend in the U.S., so this isn't a deal breaker (U.S. training is looked upon extremely favorably in Latin America, and we will move back here before too long, so she if she completed residency she would likely find a position she liked outside of the U.S.). Further, the chance to study and learn in the U.S. is genuinely a goal in and of itself.

The difficulty is more in understanding the mechanics and requirements of matching, and deciding if it is worth pursuing versus other specialties which may be less interesting but easier/more practical to enter. I am a U.S. citizen but not in the medical field. From what I've read, she would have to take the STEP exams and find some kind of clinical rotation to join (probably having to pay for the experience), and then match into both a transition year and a RadOnc program simultaneously. I've also seen the statistics showing very, very few numbers of IMGs being accepted into RadOnc residencies. Does it even make sense to try?

If anyone has a similar experience, or has any advice or insights, I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

I will completely ignore the job market stuff (which is, I'm sure, where this thread will end up), but in general:

For an FMG, the process of "matching" into a specialty will be similar, regardless of which specialty it is. There are other forums and people with more experience on SDN who can guide you/her better on this, since it's not an uncommon situation (you may already be visiting those forums, but if you're not, you should take a look).

In general, to be licensed in America you need to take USMLE Step 1, 2, and 3, and finish at least 1-2 years of graduate medical education. This is slightly different than what you need to match into residency, which is generally having taken just Step 1 and Step 2 (though some advanced positions in some states, like RadOnc, do require you to have completed Step 3 prior to starting).

Yes, RadOnc is generally a two-step match, where you need to match into an intern year (usually internal medicine or surgery, sometimes OBGYN or something else). There are few "integrated" programs, like UPenn, where the intern year is combined with the RadOnc residency so it's a single-step match.

Right now, because of the job market, RadOnc is probably the least competitive specialty and easier for FMGs. However, there's still the raw numbers game - there's "only" 200 spots a year. But again...no one wants to enter the specialty because of how tight the job market is.

I'm an US MD so I don't have specific experience with this, and I don't think any of the RadOnc forum regulars are FMGs practicing in America, but maybe I'm wrong. But I'm almost certain there will be a myriad of posts and people in the other forums who can provide expert guidance!

 

[ROforbetterorworse]

we are not sure how many years we will spend in the U.S

You are in a unique situation

Your wife will be US citizen IMG, which is much more favorable than immigrant IMG

She will need 5 years of additional training including radonc, not including Steps like @elementaryschooleconomics mentioned

If she passes those, then she will very likely match into radonc no issue

The key is are you ready to commit up to 7 years of limited earnings (while studying + residency) when you aren’t even sure how long you will live in USA

Recommend ironing that out first

 

[thecarbonionangle]

Can apply to residency or do alternative path. Would just do residency if that is what she wants. Be ready to take A job anywhere. This will still be a great outcome over going back to Venezuela

 

[dieABRdie]

Can apply to residency or do alternative path. Would just do residency if that is what she wants. Be ready to take A job anywhere. This will still be a great outcome over going back to Venezuela

And very important to be prepared to fall back on practicing family medicine if needed. Agree its probably better than staying in Venezuela.....

 

[yesmaster]

My two cents:

1. medical
2. oncology

Your wife CAN do radiation oncology, the question is why would she want to, especially in the USA in 2021?

 

[w00tz]

You are in a unique situation

Your wife will be US citizen IMG, which is much more favorable than immigrant IMG

She will need 5 years of additional training including radonc, not including Steps like @elementaryschooleconomics mentioned

If she passes those, then she will very likely match into radonc no issue

The key is are you ready to commit up to 7 years of limited earnings (while studying + residency) when you aren’t even sure how long you will live in USA

Recommend ironing that out first

If no school loans, $60k/yr ain't that bad, especially if dual income.

 

[ROforbetterorworse]

If no school loans, $60k/yr ain't that bad, especially if dual income.

yes what I meant is you can make 300K after 3 yrs of IM

given they don’t know how long they will stay in US, more important to maximize yrs of high salary

 

[RickyScott]

Hello everyone,
I have a question on behalf of my wife, who is a Venezuelan doctor currently in her 4th and final year of a radiotherapy "posgrado," or postgraduate specialization course. We live in Venezuela but will be moving to Texas in 2022. She graduated medical school in Venezuela in 2011, then practiced family medicine for 7 years before changing career paths and entering her current program. She is very interested in continuing to work in radiation oncology.

My question is whether this seems possible and/or advisable to SDN members. From reading the forum I know the job market is very difficult right now; however, my wife truly loves the field, and we are not sure how many years we will spend in the U.S., so this isn't a deal breaker (U.S. training is looked upon extremely favorably in Latin America, and we will move back here before too long, so she if she completed residency she would likely find a position she liked outside of the U.S.). Further, the chance to study and learn in the U.S. is genuinely a goal in and of itself.

The difficulty is more in understanding the mechanics and requirements of matching, and deciding if it is worth pursuing versus other specialties which may be less interesting but easier/more practical to enter. I am a U.S. citizen but not in the medical field. From what I've read, she would have to take the STEP exams and find some kind of clinical rotation to join (probably having to pay for the experience), and then match into both a transition year and a RadOnc program simultaneously. I've also seen the statistics showing very, very few numbers of IMGs being accepted into RadOnc residencies. Does it even make sense to try?

If anyone has a similar experience, or has any advice or insights, I would really appreciate it. Thank you!

What is your occupation? Prepare to be a stay at home husband if you can find work in Salina,ks etc or wherever she lands a fellowship.

 

[sallyhasanidea]

I'm curious to know what the healthcare situation is in Venezuela with the economic crisis + covid. I was under the impression there was a shortage of a lot of general medical needs, let alone radiation oncology; it surprises me that your wife was able to work as a radiation oncologist?

"Radiation machines are often broken and abandoned in public and private hospitals, because of the lack of supplies, technicians to repair them, and physicians to operate them. Many oncology physicians are practicing as though radiation therapy does not exist in Venezuela."

From JCO global oncology, https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/JGO.19.00031

Could your wife let us know what it is like working as a radiation oncologist in Venezuela in 2021 mid ecomomic crisis and during covid?

 

[mambo2021]

Hi everyone, thanks very much for your replies. From your answers and reading other forums, I am convinced that there are other specialties for my wife to pursue which would be easier/more promising for her career; however, as was mentioned, we are in a unique situation. First, a US resident's salary is far beyond what my wife currently earns, and in combination with my salary is totally adequate for our family's needs, so there is some appeal in studying and working as a resident for 5 years, while earning a salary, and then returning to Latin America with that education and experience in hand. Second, she really enjoys the field. But with your information and opinions we can have a better conversation about the possibilities.

As far as working in Venezuela, it is difficult, but unsurprisingly much more difficult if one works in the public sector than in the private. There are well-regarded private clinics and hospitals which have modern radiotherapy equipment (e.g. CDD, La Trinidad), and there are public hospitals which struggle to do conventional 2D radiotherapy because of unreliable access to supplies. Only the rich can access private care. Some of the hospital conditions would shock North Americans, but there are also many hardworking doctors doing the best they can, and many patients do get care.

Thanks again for the advice- more thoughts and input are always welcome.