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Career Advice for Oncology Trainees

Medical Oncology, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Victoria, Australia

To the Editor:

I enjoyed reading the article by Shanafelt et al, ¹ entitled "Shaping Your Career to Maximize Personal Satisfaction in the Practice of Oncology." As a mentor to many medical oncology trainees, I am frequently asked to provide career advice.

Can I add two aphorisms? First, there is no rush, and secondly, life gets more complicated. In Australia at least, most trainees complete their training in their late 20s or early 30s. I always recommend that they experience medical oncology beyond their limited training experience in academic institutions before making their career choice. I suggest a period of spending time in a laboratory, undertaking locum work in a busy private practice, and finally, spending time working in regional centers, interstate or overseas. Even if they formally commence their career in their late 30s, they still have 25 to 30 years of practice ahead of them—a sobering thought.

Shanafelt et al allude to the fact that many "young oncologists...hope that things will get better."¹ Invariably life becomes more complex rather than less complex: marriage, partnerships, children, mortgages, illnesses, and aging parents. Many of our trainees have relatively uncluttered lives and do not appreciate the inevitable extracurricular tensions that will befall them.

As a mentor, I carefully consider my advice to trainees. The thoughtful discussion by Shanafelt et al¹ will become required reading.

Author's Disclosures of Potential Conflicts of Interest

The author indicated no potential conflicts of interest.

REFERENCE

1. Shanafelt T, Chung H, White H, et al: Shaping your career to maximize personal satisfaction in the practice of oncology. J Clin Oncol 24:4020-4026, 2006[Abstract/Free Full Text]

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