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Pediatric Oncologist |
Career OverviewWhen a doctor diagnoses a child from birth through young adulthood with cancer, they refer the patient to a pediatric oncologist, who has the qualifications along with the necessary experience to evaluate the child’s disease and provide treatment.
A pediatric oncologist’s advanced experience and training provides them with the necessary education to give a patient the unequalled nature of care that teens and children with cancer need.
Pediatric oncologists are medical specialists that have the special training required to study, examine, diagnose cancers and tumors, supply the proper treatments, and manage the disease in children with the following:
- Brain tumors
- Solid tumors
- Bone tumors
- Lymphomas
- Breast cancer
- Malignant melanomas
- Thyroid cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Bowel cancer
- Stomach cancer
- Hodgkin’s disease
A pediatric oncologist is involved in the use of radiotherapy and chemotherapy to alleviate and treat the effects of cancer in children. They consult with the patients and/or family to discuss the appropriate course of treatment and to answer any questions or concerns they may have.
A pediatric oncologist orders or recommends testing to help diagnose the condition or determine the exact extent of an illness and then relies on their judgment and experience to accomplish those goals. They often practice in settings such as university medical centers, children’s hospitals and community hospitals.
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Career RequirementsThe formal education along with the training needed for a pediatric oncologist, as with all physicians and surgeons, is exceedingly exacting and requires many years of training along with hard work.
A pediatric oncologist requires four years of medical school training after they complete four years of undergraduate school. He or she spends another three years in residency training in pediatrics. On completion, they spend an additional three plus years in pediatric oncology training.
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Job OutlookThrough the year 2014, they expect the job outlook to be extremely positive and the job growth for pediatric oncologists, physicians and surgeons to keep expanding faster than other occupations. New job openings will be available for physicians, surgeons and pediatric oncologists due replacing those retiring over the next eight plus years.
As the health care industry and the population continue to expand, so do the services of pediatric oncologists and other physicians. This makes the outlook along with opportunities for individuals interested in becoming pediatric oncologists appear very promising. With the shortage of physicians in locations such as rural and low-income, pediatric oncologists just starting out have better than average opportunities in the health care field.
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Career TrackMost pediatric oncologists start their careers working in large community hospitals or children’s hospitals. At some point, they may choose to further their career and enter into private practice, work in university medical centers or as department heads. Some pediatric oncologists choose to teach in colleges or universities, work as consultants or enter into the research field.
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CompensationPediatric oncologists are highly trained and skilled professionals and their wages reflect this. The average wage for a pediatric oncologist working in the United States ranges from approximately $244,400 annually to over $390,000 annually.
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