How can radiation oncology build its workforce?

Radiation oncology continues to experience workforce challenges, but radiology departments and medical schools can help spur interest in the specialty, according to an article published January 30 in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. A team led by Arya Amini, MD, from the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA, outlined potential ways to address workforce issues at the institutional level, including spurring interest among medical students and expanding into underserved areas. “We propose potential solutions to ensure an adequate and diverse number of residency applicants to serve the future workforce needs in radiation oncology,” Amini and colleagues wrote. Radiation oncology has experienced a decline in residency applicants over the past several years, resulting in a higher number of unmatched positions. The year 2023 showed a continued decline in applicants with 37 unmatched positions. The researchers noted that this could be caused by several factors, including concerns about future job opportunities, decreased pass rates in the American Board of Radiology (ABR) radiation biology and physics boards exams, and lack of formal exposure to the field during medical school training. They proposed several potential solutions in the following areas: job market and workforce, board examination, radiation oncology exposure, and diversity and inclusion. Job Market and Workforce Initiatives the team suggested in this area include the following: ...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Subspecialties Radiation Oncology Source Type: news