<p>I'm interested in being a radiation oncologist.</p>
<p>For my undergraduate degree, would engineering physics (taken along with the premed prereqs) be a suitable degree? Engineering physics is the precursor to nuclear engineering...and radiation oncology</p>
<p>Also to be more specific, I'd be at the University of Michigan and (hopefully) UM for med school, too.</p>
<p>Not many people know what field of medicine they will enter before they start medical school- they just don’t know enough about the alternatives. So first answer is- don’t worry about it. You can enter any field of medicine after any undergrad major.</p>
<p>Longer answer- if you were to go into rad onc, it would have been useful to have taken a bit more physics, not necessary, but useful. Also useful to have some more cell biology, again not necessary, but helpful. Majoring in engineering physics is far more than you need. Do it if that’s what you want for a major, not because you think it will matter for a career in rad onc. Remember, radiation oncologists are physicians, not physicists. If you really want that much physics in your work, then go into medical physics.</p>
<p>better question: why do you want to be a radiation oncologist? </p>
<p>Now: What if you decide you don’t want to be a doctor? What will you do with yourself? Do you know what engineering physics entails? Will you enjoy that?</p>
<p>IMOP, you are looking at the wrong picture. Disagree with me if you want, you are free to do so. But, pre-med is a long journey. Much can happen between now and the time you can apply to medical school. I think you should major in what you enjoy and what you will do well in (most importantly). If you enjoy engineering physics…by all means go nuts. However, if you are doing it because you absolutely positively know that you want to be a radiation oncologist…then just remember that you probably won’t be doing anything remotely close to that field until youre about 5 years into your medical education…at that point youre undergraduate coursework will probably be meaningless in terms of what you will be learning in the field.</p>
<p>Understood, I’ll earn a degree in engineering physics and make sure to take the pre-med required courses, too.</p>
<p>This is a perfectly good idea if you really like engineering physics. It is a very bad one if you think it will be useful for a specific field of medicine.</p>