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Petrianni GM, Fiore M, Onorati E, Liuzzi G, Minerva M. Addressing the crisis: the looming shortage of radiation oncologists and the urgency for action. Radiol Med 2023; 128:1284-1285. [PMID: 37368227 DOI: 10.1007/s11547-023-01667-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Gian Marco Petrianni
- Operative Research Unit of Radiation Oncology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Fiore
- Operative Research Unit of Radiation Oncology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 200, 00128, Rome, Italy
- Research Unit of Radiation Oncology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Elena Onorati
- Research Unit of Radiation Oncology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Via Alvaro del Portillo, 21, 00128, Rome, Italy.
| | - Giammaria Liuzzi
- Division of Clinical Medical Laboratory, Hospital of Garbagnate Milanese, Viale Forlanini, 95, 20024, Garbagnate Milanese, Italy
| | - Massimo Minerva
- School of Medicine, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
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James ML, Munro P, Leung J, Baxi S. Faculty of Radiation Oncology 2018 workforce census: the status of the radiation oncology workforce in New Zealand. N Z Med J 2020; 133:15-25. [PMID: 33332325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
AIM This paper outlines the results of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) Faculty of Radiation Oncology (FRO) 2018 workforce census. Here we report the responses of New Zealand radiation oncologists and trainees in order to understand characteristics of the New Zealand radiation oncology workforce. METHOD The workforce census was conducted online during July-September 2018. Distribution was by Survey Monkey to all radiation oncologists (fellows, life members, educational affiliates, retired) and trainees on the RANZCR membership database, including members from Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. All responses were aggregated for analysis. This paper addresses only responses from New Zealand members. The census was designed to explore issues relevant to the New Zealand workforce, and questions from previous workforce censuses were repeated in order to monitor trends. RESULTS The response rate for New Zealand radiation oncologists was 73.3% (44/60). The majority (67%) were male. The average age was 50.8 years. Three-fifths (59.5%) reported New Zealand ethnicity. One-third obtained their specialist qualifications outside of Australia and New Zealand. Most worked in the public sector only (63.4%), with only two in exclusive private practice. Most radiation oncologists attained a consultant post immediately on completion of training, but there were 26 who pursued an overseas fellowship. Most worked one full-time equivalent or greater (FTE), with 17.5% working less than 1.0 FTE. Radiation oncologists reported working a median of 50.0 hours per week, with half working over 10 hours above their contracted hours. Most time was spent on clinical duties with minimal time spent on research. Radiation oncologists reported seeing an average of 235 new patients per year (median: 230). Leadership positions were held by 21/43 respondents. Within 15 years, 55% of the current workforce reported an intention to retire, including 30% of those currently practising highly specialised brachytherapy. Females in the workforce were less likely to work fulltime and spent less time in research and management activities. All trainees reported full-time work, although 50% expressed a desire for part-time training. Half of the trainees reported working 6-10 hours on call, and 60% reported two or less hours of protected teaching per week. Despite this, 90% of trainees were satisfied with their career choice. CONCLUSIONS Radiation oncology is a small specialty in New Zealand, with a significant reliance on overseas-trained specialists. The specialty continues to work significant overtime hours while time spent on research and non-clinical duties remains low. The growth in staffing between the 2014 and 2018 census has been low. Trainee numbers do not appear sufficient to meet the demand for replacing staff, due to retirements and the reduction of hours. Radiation intervention rates are low in New Zealand, but growth would be reliant on an expansion of the workforce beyond simply replacing staff losses. The radiation oncology workforce in New Zealand remains vulnerable, and careful consideration must be given to expansion and retention to ensure a viable workforce for the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa L James
- Canterbury Regional Cancer and Haematology Service, Christchurch Hospital, locked bag 4710, Christchurch 8001, New Zealand
| | - Philip Munro
- The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists Level 9, 51 Druitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
| | - John Leung
- GenesisCare (formerly Adelaide Radiotherapy Centre), Level 2, Flinders Private Hospital, 1 Flinders Drive, Bedford Park, SA 5042, Australia
| | - Siddharthra Baxi
- Genesis Care Gold Coast, John Flynn Hospital, 42 Inland Drive, Tugun, QLD 4224, Australia
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Vapiwala N, Thomas CR, Grover S, Yap ML, Mitin T, Shulman LN, Gospodarowicz MK, Longo J, Petereit DG, Ennis RD, Hayman JA, Rodin D, Buchsbaum JC, Vikram B, Abdel-Wahab M, Epstein AH, Okunieff P, Goldwein J, Kupelian P, Weidhaas JB, Tucker MA, Boice JD, Fuller CD, Thompson RF, Trister AD, Formenti SC, Barcellos-Hoff MH, Jones J, Dharmarajan KV, Zietman AL, Coleman CN. Enhancing Career Paths for Tomorrow's Radiation Oncologists. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys 2019; 105:52-63. [PMID: 31128144 PMCID: PMC7084166 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrobp.2019.05.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Revised: 05/03/2019] [Accepted: 05/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Neha Vapiwala
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
| | - Charles R Thomas
- Department of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Surbhi Grover
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; University of Botswana, Gaborone, Botswana
| | - Mei Ling Yap
- Collaboration for Cancer Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Ingham Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Liverpool and Macarthur Cancer Therapy Centre, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, Australia; School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, Australia
| | - Timur Mitin
- Department of Radiation Medicine Director, Program in Global Radiation Medicine, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Lawrence N Shulman
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Mary K Gospodarowicz
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Cancer Clinical Research Unit, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - John Longo
- Department of Radiation Oncology Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
| | - Daniel G Petereit
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Rapid City Regional Cancer Care Institute, Rapid City, South Dakota
| | - Ronald D Ennis
- Clinical Network for Radiation Oncology, Rutgers and Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey
| | - James A Hayman
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
| | - Danielle Rodin
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jeffrey C Buchsbaum
- Radiation Research Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Bhadrasain Vikram
- Clinical Radiation Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - May Abdel-Wahab
- Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alan H Epstein
- Uniformed Service University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - Paul Okunieff
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida Health Cancer Center, Gainesville, Florida
| | - Joel Goldwein
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Elekta AB, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Patrick Kupelian
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, California
| | - Joanne B Weidhaas
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; MiraDx, Los Angeles, California
| | - Margaret A Tucker
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
| | - John D Boice
- National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Bethesda, Maryland; Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Clifton David Fuller
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
| | - Reid F Thompson
- Department of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon; VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, Oregon
| | - Andrew D Trister
- Department of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon
| | - Silvia C Formenti
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City, New York
| | | | - Joshua Jones
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Kavita V Dharmarajan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, New York
| | - Anthony L Zietman
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - C Norman Coleman
- National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
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