Medical oncology [1]
Medical oncologists are doctors who diagnose, assess, treat and manage patients with cancers.
Training usually starts with a five year first degree in medicine, MBBS. 2 years foundation doctor training, 2 years core training (CT1-2), followed by 4 years specialists training (ST3-6). This period of training will include your royal college exams. Length of training can vary according to your circumstances.
Doctors may work up to 48 hours a week. The working hours may sometimes extend beyond the normal working day to include early mornings, evenings, weekends and on call. The basic salary ranges from £29,384 to £34,012. Once you start your specialty training as a medical oncologist employed by the NHS, you can expect to earn a salary of at least £40,257, which can increase to between £84,559 and £114,003 as a consultant.
You'll need excellent communication skills to manage a wide range of relationships with colleagues, and patients and their families. You'll be emotionally resilient, have excellent problem-solving and diagnostic skills and work well in teams and under pressure. You'll also be very organised for the benefit of patients.
There are approximately 485 medical oncologists working in the NHS in England. In 2020, there were 185 applications for 39 specialty training places. You could specialise in specific cancers such as gastrointestinal tract, urological, cancers of the blood and lymphatic system or cancers of the female reproductive system.