The Student Room Group

Radiotherapy and Oncology - ELQ Exempt courses

Original post by normaw
Radiotherapy and Oncology is an exception AHP course so you should be eligible for undergraduate funding (both tuition fee and maintenance loans) despite your previous study. You will also be eligible to apply for the training grant and specialist subject payment from the NHS LSF (£6,000 per year).
(Also, in response to your concerns in your first post, the career prospects are excellent and you will have better work hours than a DR - no night or weekend shifts :smile:).

Thank you for the response! Just wondering, what options of postgrad degrees would be available after Radiotherapy and Oncology? And are there a variety of different jobs I could get into? Could I also get into corporate jobs after this?
Original post by nicoleayr3
Thank you for the response! Just wondering, what options of postgrad degrees would be available after Radiotherapy and Oncology? And are there a variety of different jobs I could get into? Could I also get into corporate jobs after this?


@nicoleayr3 I've started a new thread for you in the Healthcare forum to answer your questions. :smile:

Yes there are opportunities to advance your career, both within the NHS and outside it. Radiotherapists are in short supply so you are pretty much guaranteed a job when you qualify. You start in the NHS on band 5, but with experience, determination and additional qualifications/training you can advance to the level of band 8 consultant radiographer. You can also consider private practice, academia and corporate jobs (such as working for the companies that develop medical equipment, etc.).

Here are some more threads on radiotherapy that are worth a read:

https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7388178
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7498338
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7497378#post99685790

@HellomynameisNev also pops in from time to time and is a qualified radiotherapist.
Reply 2
Original post by normaw
@nicoleayr3 I've started a new thread for you in the Healthcare forum to answer your questions. :smile:
Yes there are opportunities to advance your career, both within the NHS and outside it. Radiotherapists are in short supply so you are pretty much guaranteed a job when you qualify. You start in the NHS on band 5, but with experience, determination and additional qualifications/training you can advance to the level of band 8 consultant radiographer. You can also consider private practice, academia and corporate jobs (such as working for the companies that develop medical equipment, etc.).
Here are some more threads on radiotherapy that are worth a read:
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7388178
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7498338
https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=7497378#post99685790
@HellomynameisNev also pops in from time to time and is a qualified radiotherapist.

thank you very much! I do appreciate the help
Original post by nicoleayr3
Thank you for the response! Just wondering, what options of postgrad degrees would be available after Radiotherapy and Oncology? And are there a variety of different jobs I could get into? Could I also get into corporate jobs after this?

So after qualification, you can then choose to do a masters - its kind of expected if you want a band 7 role to at least be working towards your masters. If you want to be an Advanced Practitioner or Consultant Radiographer you will absolutely need postgrad qualifications.

I know some radiographers who have done a PgDip in Sonography (very competitive). You can go the academic route - if you want to be a lecturer you'll be expected to get some qualifications in education.

Other choices I've seen people make - recruitment, AHP role development, sales for equipment manufacturers, service & repair technicians, treatment planning, dosimetry, medical physics, nuclear medicine, PET-CT, mammography, mobile MRI, senior management...

Lots of choices if you're smart, hard working, and adaptable. But you'll need to get qualified and get a couple of years experience under your belt first :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by HellomynameisNev
So after qualification, you can then choose to do a masters - its kind of expected if you want a band 7 role to at least be working towards your masters. If you want to be an Advanced Practitioner or Consultant Radiographer you will absolutely need postgrad qualifications.
I know some radiographers who have done a PgDip in Sonography (very competitive). You can go the academic route - if you want to be a lecturer you'll be expected to get some qualifications in education.
Other choices I've seen people make - recruitment, AHP role development, sales for equipment manufacturers, service & repair technicians, treatment planning, dosimetry, medical physics, nuclear medicine, PET-CT, mammography, mobile MRI, senior management...
Lots of choices if you're smart, hard working, and adaptable. But you'll need to get qualified and get a couple of years experience under your belt first :smile:

Hi! Thank you for the response, it makes me feel more at ease knowing all the possible opportunities after this degree. Could I also ask, if I am doing Radiotherapy and oncology, if it is still possible to do a masters in other modalities or radiography as a whole? For example, a course not cancer treatment related?
Original post by nicoleayr3
Hi! Thank you for the response, it makes me feel more at ease knowing all the possible opportunities after this degree. Could I also ask, if I am doing Radiotherapy and oncology, if it is still possible to do a masters in other modalities or radiography as a whole? For example, a course not cancer treatment related?

Yes. So one of my team leaders is doing her Masters in novel cancer treatments, so learning about the latest cutting edge treatments, not just in radiotherapy. I have been to a talk by someone doing their PhD in MR guided radiotherapy who did her masters in dosimetry and planning. If you go into other modalities you'll be be able to more qualifications related to that.

CPD (Continuous Professional Development) is a massive thing in the NHS, and I know a few people who aren't doing full masters degrees, but are picking and choosing different modules from masters courses to enhance their knowledge.

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