Radiation oncology residency selection: A postgraduate evaluation of factor importance and survey of variables associated with job securement

Abstract

Background Medical students often choose to pursue a career in Radiation Oncology with limited meaningful exposure to the field. We previously identified factors which were most influential to an applicant’s rank list order. Here we sought to assess if residency graduates had differing views regarding those factors. We also polled recent graduates’ attitudes of the current job market. Material and Methods An anonymous, internet-based survey was developed and distributed to graduates of radiation oncology residencies from 2003–06 and 2012–15 to assess the importance of factors with regard to residency selection, training, and job securement and attitudes toward the job market within the United States. Results Responses were received from 198 of 848 (23%) of those invited to participate. The respondents were divided into two cohorts for analysis, an “early” cohort (2001–09) and a “contemporary” cohort (2010–16) Respondents recalled “quality of clinical training,” “perceived happiness of residents,” and “sense of community among faculty and residents” as the three most important factors influencing the rank list; post-residency the most valued factors of the residency experience were “quality of clinical training,” “geographic location,” and “faculty mentorship.” Factors that were assigned the greatest differential value in hindsight to influence the rank list included “faculty mentorship,” “willingness of faculty to call employer,” and “quality of alumni base.” 64% of respondents reported the job market to be difficult or very difficult. This perception was more common among contemporary graduates (p<0.05). 60% of respondents reported “far too many” or “somewhat too many” residency positions for the actual job needs in the U.S. Conclusion After training, residency graduates place higher value on factors in residency that can directly improve job procurement. This finding is more common among more recent graduates, potentially a result of the perception of a tightening job market with too many radiation oncologists in training.

A scoping review of medical education research for residents in radiation oncology

“…This category was followed by curriculum design research (50, 34.2%); and reviews (8, 5.5%). Other research topics with more than ten publications between 2008 and 2017 included: training (25, 17.1%), contouring (20, 13.7%), career (17, 11.6%), technology (16,11.0%), resident well-being (15, 10.3%), multidisciplinary training (14, 9.6%), research (13,8.9%), and professionalism (12, 8.2%). The numbers of publications inside and outside the United States are also presented in Table 3.…”

“…Presently, there is an excess of radiation oncologists in the United States, but the number of residency slots has continued to expand [15]. Meanwhile, trainees gave more value to future job procurement because of the perception of a tightening job market [16]. In summary, the increasing interest in career-related topics originated from the motivation to understand where trainees came from and where they end up.…”

Regional Influence of Radiation Oncology Residency Training on Job Securement over Two Time Periods

“…This regional bias is likely multifactorial involving a combination of personal factors and opportunities between residency programs with local hospitals/institutions. Notably, survey studies [4,12] have revealed that "geographic location" was a factor deemed very important by ROs in selecting their residency program and postgraduate employment.…”

“…The location of residency training and employment were categorized in four regions: Northeast (NE), South (S), Midwest (MW), and West (W) per the US Census Bureau [11]. Graduation year and location of first job were available for a subset of respondents who completed an internet-based survey as described in another study [4]. From the survey, two cohorts were identified, an early cohort which graduated from 2003-2006 and a late cohort which graduated from 2012-2015.…”

“…The ability to secure employment upon graduation from radiation oncology (RO) residency is thought to have become more difficult as both residents and current radiation oncologists (ROs) feel that the market is more saturated than previous years [1][2][3][4][5]. Although an analysis in 2010 projected that there may be shortage of ROs with the demand exceeding the supply from 2010-2020 [6], a more recent study predicted that the supply of ROs may outpace the demand from 2015-2025 [7].…”