How To Become a Pediatric Oncologist

Employment Training

A pediatric oncologist is a specialized doctor who deals with cancer in children. Although cancer in children is not common, it does happen. This doctor has special training to deal with parents and children who have cancer. Entering into this field of practice could be very rewarding for the right person. Before you decide to pursue this field you will want to check into the education requirements. Is there some place local that you can practice once you get licensed and is it something you can deal with mentally? Not all children with cancer will be cured so can you deal with the possibility of losing a child to cancer. You will be working with these children on a lengthy term and you will get to know them as much as their family does. Losing one of these children to cancer could affect you as much as losing your own child. It takes a very strong person to be able to deal with this. Once you decide that a pediatric oncology career is the right choice for you, the next step is to start checking into being able to afford the education. The requirement for pediatric oncology education is lengthy. The first step is a four-year medical school training after that you will need to have a three-year residency as a pediatrician and at least three years in training for pediatric oncology/hematology. That could require you to dedicate up to ten years of education before being able to practice in a pediatric oncology career. If you can find a good teaching college you could shorten your pediatric oncology education time. The medical teaching college will give you the chance to go through the first four years of education and some residency time for pediatrician. It could be possible to do your residency time there while training in the field of oncology at the same time. The pediatric oncology course also includes education in hematology. In the 1950's and 1960's it was discovered that these two field work hand in hand with each other. Since hematology is the study of blood disease and cancer is a blood disease. The most common way to treat leukemia in children is with chemotherapy. This in the past had to be administered by a hematologist. So the medical profession decided to combine these to fields so that children who have to undergo this procedure can deal with the same person through the whole process. It is a scary enough time for children; they should not have to worry about dealing with several different people. Since cancer in children is not common there are not very many people who choose to go into this field of study. It is however a much needed profession in the medical field. Choosing to make this your career choice could save the lives of many children in today's world. Although only about one percent of cancer patients are children, that one percent could grow in the years to come. So we need people in this field who are specialized to treat the children. Children are our future and we need to give them every possibility we can to make a difference. Becoming a pediatric oncologist is a good career choice because this field is not a very common choice. The world needs more people who know how to keep our children healthy. Not to mention it is a field of medical practice that needs plenty of physicians. The right person could find this to be the most rewarding decision they have made in their lifetime. And possibly make a big difference in a child's life.