University of Southern California-Los Angeles General Medical Center USC-LA General Program

Program Identity & Fit

USC/Los Angeles General Medical Center Radiation Oncology is a university-affiliated, safety-net program based at one of the country's largest public teaching hospitals and Level I trauma centers, giving residents high-volume exposure to advanced, often late-stage disease across nearly every major disease site in a medically underserved county population. The four-year curriculum rotates residents through disease-site-based blocks (head/neck-GU, GI/CNS/skin, gyn/lung/heme, breast/sarcoma) plus a dedicated pediatric radiation oncology rotation at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, with an elective block available for research. Institutional cooperative-group trial participation (RTOG/NRG) and access to USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center infrastructure indicate research is supported and encouraged rather than mandated, within a program whose primary identity is rooted in public-hospital clinical service and multidisciplinary patient care. The program appears to value residents oriented toward serving a high-acuity, resource-limited safety-net population while still training toward ABR certification and independent practice.