2379 - The Evolution of Medical Students' Interest in Radiation Oncology: From Student Interest Group Events to Residency Application

Purpose/Objective(s):

In 2025, only 142 of 20,368 U.S. MD seniors applied to radiation oncology (RO) in the Match. A commonly cited reason for this finding is lack of exposure in the medical school curriculum. We hypothesize that participation in a RO Student Interest Group (ROSIG) is associated with shadowing, research involvement, elective participation, and ultimately application to RO residency.

Materials/Methods:

At our institution, ROSIG is led by two 2nd year medical students (M2s) with support from the residency program directors. ROSIG hosts in-person faculty-led talks, departmental tours, M4 post-match panels, and contouring workshops. In addition, the department offers two electives in RO (2 and 4 week options). In late 2023, ROSIG expanded to include centralized shadowing contacts, research advertisement, and a dedicated newsletter.

Medical students who shadowed in our department between July 2023 - January 2026 were surveyed regarding motivations for shadowing, participation in RO research, plans for RO electives, and specialty interests.

Results:

Forty-five students (46.7% male, 53.3% female) shadowed RO in July 2023 – January 2026. Shadowing increased from 8 M3 students to 20 M2 students after ROSIG expanded initiatives in late 2023. While only halfway through their first year, 10 M1 students have already shadowed, suggesting a similar trajectory in this class.

Forty students (88.9%) responded to our survey. The most common factor influencing 47.5% of students' decision to shadow was ROSIG events. Furthermore, 19 students (47.5%) reported current or prior research involvement with a RO faculty, of which 9 (45.0%) credited ROSIG with influencing this decision. Five additional students not yet involved in RO research noted that ROSIG was helpful for identifying research opportunities. Of the 40 students who participated, 23 (57.5%) already completed or plan to complete a RO elective.

Among 25 current RO applicants, students planning to apply RO, and students with RO in their top three specialties of interest, 18 (72.0%) cited their experience shadowing RO as one of the most influential factors in their interest. Ten students (25.0%, 7 female and 3 male) reported applying or planning to apply to RO, and of these, 5 credited ROSIG for shadowing and 4 for facilitating RO research. Notably, 100% of M4 RO applicants and current M3s preparing applications to RO shadowed prior.

Conclusion:

Structured, student-led exposure through ROSIG is associated with increased shadowing and is instrumental to research engagement and eventual application to RO. All recent applicants and students planning to apply from our institution first shadowed in the department, many of whom attribute their decision to shadow RO to ROSIG. Therefore, we believe our ROSIG can serve as a model for other medical schools to help increase exposure to RO.