Radiation Oncology Job Market

[Member223232]

The state of the radonc job market has been discussed previously in this forum see- "bloodbath in the red journal.' There is a concern that the concern was not taken seriously (or ignored) by the leadership at ASTRO. Recently, a brief communication was published in the Red Journal on the experience of 2014 grads. It's not exactly a solution to the problem but at least its being acknowledged. Meanwhile however, the number of residency slots continue to rise...

http://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(15)00337-5/abstract

Some excerpts from the article are:
Seventy-one percent felt the job market was worse than what they anticipated when entering residency.
Thirty-three percent found no job openings in their geographic area of preference.
Ninety of the 97 respondents (93%) who sought employment were successful by the time of the survey.
Five of the 7 who did not secure employment subsequently entered fellowship

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[medgator]

Already posted and discussed in the bloodbath thread previously

 

[CharlestonRadOnc]

I get the impression - from the graduating residents I have talked to - that the job market is becoming tighter. Do we need more residency programs? Do we need to expand the number of current residents? These questions are difficult to answer... I will tell you that many senior (age 60-70ish) Radiation Oncologists are working longer and are delaying retirement... and this is tying up some plum jobs across the country.

 

[medgator]

I get the impression - from the graduating residents I have talked to - that the job market is becoming tighter. Do we need more residency programs? Do we need to expand the number of current residents? These questions are difficult to answer... I will tell you that many senior (age 60-70ish) Radiation Oncologists are working longer and are delaying retirement... and this is tying up some plum jobs across the country.

Not only that, existing partners/practitioners are just picking up the volume in PP. In some cases, that may involve cross-covering 2 half-day clinics/LINACs a day.

 

[OTN]

I suppose senior radiation oncologists and PD/chairmen have no reason to mitigate or care about over-training of residents, since in theory it just means they can hire junior colleagues to do more work for less.

Of course, what happens when an ACO/HMO hires these same junior radiation oncologists at a discount, and aggressively seeks to take business from physician-owned practices and academic centers? Not such a rosy picture.

I don't think an increase in radiation oncologists necessarily will lead to increased competition in the market. Capital outlays (machine, vault, real estate) are a much greater barrier to entry than radonc salaries. Sure, being able to hire radoncs somewhat more cheaply will help their bottom line eventually, but I would be surprised if it made enough of a difference to where it substantially changed their business plans. That's the problem with an oversupply of radoncs in the modern era: New grads, unlike internal medicine, general surgery, etc, can't just set up their own solo or small group practice anymore. Unfortunately, instead of more radoncs working for less $$, it could mean higher levels of graduate unemployment.

We really don't know, however, which I think is important to emphasize. I was very glad to see the employment survey, though. At least it means someone is paying attention.

 

[CharlestonRadOnc]

In my humble opinion as an early career practitioner, this is what I see happening as more residency programs are created (and more resident positions are opened up)...

1) It is going to become more and more competitive to land a job at a top practice.
2) Employers may decide to increase the number of years it takes to make partner.

It's definitely an interesting time for our field...

 

[medgator]

In my humble opinion as an early career practitioner, this is what I see happening as more residency programs are created (and more resident positions are opened up)...

1) It is going to become more and more competitive to land a job at a top practice.
2) Employers may decide to increase the number of years it takes to make partner.

It's definitely an interesting time for our field...

I've seen similar trends in radiology already in my geographical location for a few years now. Some newer grads are never made "equity" partners. They are either professional partners only or straight salary with a bonus.

 

[thecarbonionangle]

.

 

[Judgment Dragon]

Already posted and discussed in the bloodbath thread previously

Can you link this for me?

 

[Gfunk6]

Can you link this for me?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/bloodbath-in-red-journal.1014614/

 

[Member223232]

We aren't there yet but I think the trend is troubling.......
http://www.redjournal.org/article/S0360-3016(15)00615-X/fulltext

Delayed Workforce Entry and High Emigration Rates for Recent Canadian Radiation Oncology Graduates

,
Ross Halperin, MD
,
Shilo Lefresne, MD
,
Theresa Trotter, MD
,
Teri Stuckless, MD
,
Michael Brundage, MD
Received: April 15, 2015; Received in revised form: May 27, 2015; Accepted: June 1, 2015; Published Online: June 08, 2015

Purpose
To determine the employment status and location of recent Canadian radiation oncology (RO) graduates and to identify current workforce entry trends.

Methods and Materials
A fill-in-the-blank spreadsheet was distributed to all RO program directors in December 2013 and June 2014, requesting the employment status and location of their graduates over the last 3 years. Visa trainee graduates were excluded.

Results
Response rate from program directors was 100% for both survey administrations. Of 101 graduates identified, 99 (98%) had known employment status and location. In the December survey, 5 2013 graduates (16%), 17 2012 graduates (59%), and 18 2011 graduates (75%) had permanent staff employment. Six months later, 5 2014 graduates (29%), 15 2013 graduates (48%), 24 2012 graduates (83%), and 21 2011 graduates (88%) had secured staff positions. Fellowships and temporary locums were common for those without staff employment. The proportion of graduates with staff positions abroad increased from 22% to 26% 6 months later.

Conclusions
Workforce entry for most RO graduates was delayed but showed steady improvement with longer time after graduation. High emigration rates for jobs abroad signify domestic employment challenges for newly certified, Canadian-trained radiation oncologists. Coordination on a national level is required to address and regulate radiation oncologist supply and demand disequilibrium in Canada.

 

[seper]

wow that's a lot of graduates.