Dr. Farshad Foroudi

Name: Dr. Farshad Foroudi

Career stage: Consultant

Location: Melbourne

Position: Chair Uro-oncology Service and Consultant Radiation Oncologist Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Medical Specialty: Radiation Oncology

What do you enjoy most about radiation oncology?

Radiation Oncology is a speciality with both technical and patient care aspects. I enjoy the variety of research opportunities and the minimal oncall responsibilites (2 weeks a year).

What are some of the challenges (or down-sides) of being a radiation oncologist?

Very capital intensive - so extremely likely that a radiation oncologist would either work in a group practice or employed by the public sector.

Issues of personalities in group practice.

Tertiary speciality and often dependant on referrals from surgeons.

Do you feel that you can achieve a good work-life balance?

Probably a little too much on work side. If work was just clinical responsibilities would be much more time for life activities. Unfortunately there is significant amounts of administrative/paperwork especially as one proceeds up the hospital hierachy. Often such paperwork does not seem productive use of a specialists time!

However on call responsibilites are minimal compared to most hospital based specialities - currently I do two weeks a year - and generally would be called into hospital once in those two weeks for an emergency.

Do you have any advice for students or junior doctors considering a career in radiation oncology?

Would be helpful if interested in technology and dealing with patients with life changing illnesses. Experience in speciality surgical terms such as breast, urology, GI as well as haematology or medical oncology would be useful. Important for residents to realise that the inpatients are a much sicker group of patients, most radiation oncology patients are treated as outpatients. Majority of patients are treated with curative therapy, which may not be obvious to junior medical staff looking after inpatients.

»Visit the Radiation Oncology specialty page