Interview Assessment #1

Bekah Armstrong

Name of Person Interviewed: ​Dr. Charles Connor

Profession:​ Medical Oncologist

Location and Business Name:​ Texas Oncology - Plano East

3705 West 15th St.

Plano, TX 75075

Date of Interview: ​October 10, 2019

Time:​ 3:30 PM

My interview with Dr. Connor was initially scheduled for 11:45 am on October 10th, but

due to him being behind in work he had to move the interview to the afternoon. I became slightly

nervous that since the interview was moved to the afternoon it would interfere with my afternoon

class since I had not notified my teacher that I might need to take a phone call during her class

period. Fortunately, the interview was moved to 3:30 pm, so I was able to take the call since I

had early release that day. I was indescribably thankful that Dr. Connor still took time out of his

day to talk to me even though he was extremely busy that day. That showed me how committed

he was to keep his word to me about having an interview, which has made me more keen to have

him be one of the people that I would seriously consider to be my mentor. The interview itself

was exceptionally informative for me and it provided me with valuable information about

Oncology directly from a licensed Oncologist.

Dr. Connor was the first professional in the field of Oncology that I was granted the chance to

have an interview with. I had been trying for weeks to schedule an interview with any

professional in the field of Oncology, but I was still getting nowhere. I talked to my grandmother

about my situation and she suggested that I try to call her Oncologist, Dr. Connor. Dr. Connor

had been her Oncologist for the past few months and he practiced at a location close to where she

lived, Texas Oncology Plano East. After contacting him I was excited to find out he was willing

to have a phone interview with me. Even though it was not a face-to-face interview, I was still

thankful he was going to allow me the opportunity to interview him because so far no other

Oncological professional had.

During our interview, Dr. Connor shared what the daily life of a Medical Oncologist is. A

Medical Oncologist begins their day going on rounds within the hospital checking in on every

patient and preparing them for the treatments or procedures they may be having done that day.

Dr. Connor explained to me that a Medical Oncologist will typically be seeing around fifteen to

twenty patients at one time. Along with attending to patients, a Medical Oncologist must also

keep up with any office paperwork they must do. This office paperwork oftentimes includes

billing and insurance on top of patient medical records. Other people in the office also work on

billing and insurance with the Medical Oncologist because it is such a time-consuming task. All

of the work that a Medical Oncologist does is done either in a hospital setting or in a private

practice setting. After Dr. Connor mentioned that there were two different settings that a Medical

Oncologist worked in I asked him to clarify the difference between the two. He explained to me

that a Medical Oncologist who works in a hospital setting focuses more on the research side of

Oncology. They work to hopefully find new and more effective treatments for cancer. A Medical
Oncologist who works in a private practice setting focuses more on directly treating patients and

patient care.

Along with learning about what a Medical Oncologist does and the different settings that

a Medical Oncologist works in, I also learned from my interview with Dr. Connor more about

the team that works with a Medical Oncologist. Dr. Connor explained that the team includes

Oncological Nurse Practitioners and Registered Nurses who work in the Infusion Room. The

Infusion Room is where chemotherapy is administered. The team may also include a Radiation

Oncologist who is in charge of administering radiation therapy and Hospital Lab Technicians

who are in charge of a patient's lab work. Dr. Connor surprised me by giving the statistic that

99% of the medical professionals who work with patients during their cancer journey are not

actually doctors, they are mainly nurses and other medical professionals. Furthermore, Dr.

Connor explained that some specialized Oncologists treat cancer inflicting a particular area of

the body, such as a Gynecological Oncologist. Similarly, some Oncologists specialize in

performing a specific type of cancer treatment such as a Surgical Oncologist who specializes in

removing tumors using surgery. Dr. Connor made sure to note that there are Oncologists who

can do it all and do not specialize in just one particular area of the body or treatment.

Lastly, from this interview, I learned that the typical time a Medical Oncologist continues to see

a patient after going into remission. Dr. Connor told me an Oncologist will typically continue to

see their patients for five more years following entrance into remission, but the exact number of

years will vary from patient to patient.

All in all, this first interview I conducted with Dr. Connor was informative and overall an

excellent experience. I was able to gather from the interview a plethora of information about the
field of Oncology. This information will help me in the future as I continue on my path to

becoming a licensed Medical Oncologist. I was also able to better my interview skills in

preparation for future interviews, even ones that are going to be face-to-face. I also learned the

importance of being flexible and being able to quickly adapt to other people’s changing

schedules as this will be an important skill for the future when I enter the workforce. I am

extremely thankful for the experience and thankful that Dr. Connor, who seems to me to be a

genuine person, took time out of his busy schedule to speak to me.
Questions and Notes

1. What does a normal day as a Medical Oncologist entail?

a. Rounds on patients in the hospital

b. Daily office work

2. How many patients do you see a one time typically as a Medical Oncologist?

a. Between fifteen to twenty patients per doctor

3. Where does a Medical Oncologist typically work?

a. Private practice

b. In hospitals

4. What are the major differences between Medical Oncologists who work in hospitals and

those who are in private practice?

a. Medical Oncologists in hospitals focus more on the research aspect of Oncology

b. Medical Oncologists in private practice focus more on the direct patient care

aspect of Oncology

5. What team members typically work alongside a Medical Oncologist?

a. A team includes an Oncological Nurse Practitioner and an Oncological Registered

Nurse both of whom work in the Infusion Room administering chemotherapy to

patients

b. A team may also include a Radiation Oncologist who administers radiation

therapy

c. Hospital Lab Technicians focus on taking care of any of the lab work a patient

may require
 d. Statically, 99% of the workers who work in the field of Oncology are not actually

doctors. Many are nurses or technicians.

6. What task takes up the majority of a Medical Oncolgist’s daily tasks beside treating

patients?

a. Billing and insurance pretty much all day everyday

7. What are the other types of Oncological physician fields available?

a. There are Oncologists who specialize in treating a specific area of the body such

as a Gynecological Oncologist

b. There are also Oncologists who focus on administering a specific type of

treatment such as a Radiation Oncologist or a Surgical Oncologist

c. There are also Oncologists who do it all, and are able to do anything within the

field of Oncology

8. How long does a Medical Oncologist typically see a patient after they have been

determined to have gone into remission?

a. It can vary from patient to patient

b. A Medical Oncologist will typically continue to see a patient for five years

following entering into remission