LBA 23 - National Job Satisfaction, Workforce Stability, and Transition Patterns among U.S. Radiation Oncologists: A Comprehensive ASTRO Early Career and Workforce Committee Survey

12:50pm - 12:55pm ET

Room 259

Presenter(s)

Austin Sim, MD, JD - The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH

A. J. Sim¹, A. K. Paulsson², J. E. Bates³, A. R. Chaurasia⁴, C. S. Shah⁵, and I. J. Choi⁶; ¹Department of Radiation Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, OH, ²Providence Medical Group, Sonoma, CA, ³Department of Radiation Oncology and Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, ⁴Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, TX, ⁵Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute, Department of Radiation Oncology, Pittsburgh, PA, ⁶Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY

Purpose/Objective(s):

Changes in the healthcare landscape have contributed to burnout, job dissatisfaction, and workforce attrition in radiation oncology (RO). In contrast, surveys of U.S.-based graduating RO residents show high anticipated career satisfaction, but whether this satisfaction persists after entry into practice is unclear. We characterized job satisfaction across the U.S. RO workforce and compared satisfaction, career transitions, and transition resources between early-career (EC) and non-early-career (non-EC) physicians.

Materials/Methods:

A 40-item survey co-developed by the ASTRO Early Career and Workforce Committees was distributed to U.S.-based ASTRO member radiation oncologists (n=4,165), including 1,023 EC physicians (=8 years post-training). The survey assessed job satisfaction, practice characteristics, compensation, work allocation, and factors influencing job transitions. Descriptive statistics compared EC with non-EC physicians, and predictors of EC satisfaction were explored using multivariable regression.

Results:

A total of 870 physicians responded (371 EC, 36.3% response rate; 499 non-EC, 15.9% response rate). Mean satisfaction was high overall (7.63 ± 1.99 on a 10-point Likert scale) and nearly identical between EC and non-EC physicians (7.63 ± 1.92 vs. 7.63 ± 2.04). Practice setting was not significantly associated with satisfaction in either cohort, though EC physicians in independent practices reported the highest satisfaction (7.98 ± 2.08) and non-academic hospital-employed physicians the lowest (7.24 ± 2.20; p=0.525). Among non-EC physicians, professional service agreements had the highest satisfaction (7.95) and government/VA physicians the lowest (6.90). Among EC physicians, regression analysis identified no strong predictors of satisfaction (R²=0.033).

Job transitions were reported by 28% of EC and 63% of non-EC physicians. Leading reasons for transition were geographic location (47%), work culture (39%), work-life balance (35%), and compensation (34%). EC physicians more often cited spouse/partner/family opportunities (31% vs. 16%), whereas non-EC physicians more often cited job security (23% vs. 10%). Personal connections were the most used transition resource for both cohorts (83% EC vs. 75% non-EC), while mentorship was used more often by EC physicians (61% vs. 30%).

Conclusion:

Despite concerns about burnout, job dissatisfaction, and workforce attrition, job satisfaction among responding U.S. radiation oncologists was high and nearly identical between EC and non-EC physicians. Geographic location and workplace culture were dominant drivers of job transitions. Professional relationships are essential for career development, particularly for EC physicians, supporting the need for workforce initiatives focused on mentorship, networking, and practice culture to improve and maintain long-term career satisfaction.