How to Become a Doctor
Oncologists are doctors. They have either an MD or a DO (doctor of medicine or doctor of osteopathy) and have completed a three-year medicine residency as well as a three year fellowship in hematology/oncology as a specialty. Radiation oncologists is a very highly specialized residency–they do both a medicine or surgical internship year and a four-year residency. I am not aware of any masters programs in radiation oncology in terms of treating patients. You can have the title of doctor by completing a doctorate and getting a PhD in any subject that one is offered in, so perhaps you could have one in radiation technology or physics and work in the field. Some therapists who treat patients and have a masters degree in psychology will refer to themselves as ‘doctor.’ But if you want to be a radiation oncologist, you have to get a medical degree first.
