Medical Students

The Thomas Jefferson University Department of Radiation Oncology welcomes fourth-year medical students interested in a four-week rotation. The goal of this four-week clinical rotation is for medical students to learn the fundamentals of radiation oncology. Students can use this rotation as an opportunity to explore the specialty as a possible career choice. Students interested in gaining a deeper understanding of oncology care but not planning to pursue radiation oncology will find this course useful to understand radiation oncology as a specialty, and therefore better be able to coordinate and deliver optimal multi-disciplinary care and counsel future patients. 

Located in an NCI-designated cancer center, our fourth-year, four-week rotation consists of the medical student being assigned to one faculty member each day, with whom he or she will see patients in clinic. During the clerkship, students will be expected to work-up patients, perform physical exams and present cases to faculty. Students will be exposed to treatment planning, simulations and treatment deliveries throughout the rotation. 

Students will participate in a formal didactic curriculum, which includes lectures on radiation and radiation emergency fundamentals. Students also attend resident and department conferences as available during the clerkship. Additionally, students complete hands-on treatment planning and contouring with a faculty or resident preceptor, and will interact with a strong medical physics program on a regular basis.

Strengths of our training include extensive experience in the following:

• Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy
• Stereotactic Radiosurgery - Gamma Knife/Linac Based Radiosurgery
• Brachytherapy training for a multitude of disease sites
• Liver directed therapy including radioembolization

Please contact our Education Coordinator, Phyllis Lewis via e-mail or at (215) 955-5669 for information and scheduling. 

Medical students are welcome to visit the department to shadow with one of our physicians for a full or half day. Please contact our Education Coordinator, Phyllis Lewis via e-mail or at (215) 955-5669.

Students are encouraged to participate in a clinical or basic science research project.  Projects are chosen and supervised by the clerkship director or other department faculty. We aim to tailor research experiences toward the particular interests of each student.