Does Oncology Have a Recruitment Problem?
Does Oncology Have a Recruitment Problem?
To deal with the predicted shift in the oncology workforce, the ASCO report has outlined a range of strategies to curtail disruptions in cancer care. These include identifying ways to collaborate with other physicians and medical professionals, particularly physician assistants and nurse practitioners, to coordinate and expand patient care and to address the problem of physician burnout. The report also stressed the importance of using technology, such as telemedicine, to connect primary care providers to specialists and of employing new practice models, such as visiting consultants, to provide greater access to care, especially in rural areas that have limited oncology resources.
"We avoided an oncology shortage 10 years ago, likely because the care model shifted so that oncologists were supported by a robust team of oncology staff, such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners, who could take on a range of tasks, freeing up oncologists to see more patients," said Hagop Kantarjian, MD, the chair of and a professor in the Department of Leukemia at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Looking forward, Dr Peace sees greater evolution for the roles that physician assistants and nurse practitioners play in alleviating the workload demands in oncology. In fact, one report predicted that the number of physician assistants will increase significantly, from about 75,000 in 2010 to 128,000 by 2025.
In terms of garnering greater interest, Dr Regelmann thinks persuading medical students to pursue the primary care residencies, which are prerequisites for an oncology subspecialty, will ultimately get more young doctors interested in oncology.
"The residency training period may be prime time for young doctors to decide if they want to pursue a subspecialty training in oncology, as well as prime time for oncology fellowship programs to catch would-be oncologists," he said.
Mr Farber suggests starting even earlier, fostering interest in oncology in college or even high school students.
Expanding fellowship programs to deal with greater demand and curbing funding cuts would help capture more oncologists as well, though given the current state of federal funding, Dr Yu feels that this is not likely to happen.
Despite the impending oncology shortage, Dr Peace believes that this is a great time to be in the field.
"Both the older and younger generation have a palpable sense of the increasing rates of breakthroughs in cancer medicine through the application of genetic medicine and advances in pharmaceutical development," he said. "Anyone who has been in this area of medicine for the past 25 years has seen the introduction of treatments that were inconceivable when we started out our medical training. This shift makes for a career that is intellectually stimulating and allows for physicians to deliver meaningful, often life-extending, care to patients."
Dr Shreders agrees with Dr Peace that it is an exciting time to be an oncologist. "Today, with the remarkable advances in cancer therapeutics, I can tell my patient that his leukemia is gone, whereas 30 years ago that would not have been possible," she said. "Although many may view oncology as a depressing field, there are more happy moments than people know."
Potential Solutions
To deal with the predicted shift in the oncology workforce, the ASCO report has outlined a range of strategies to curtail disruptions in cancer care. These include identifying ways to collaborate with other physicians and medical professionals, particularly physician assistants and nurse practitioners, to coordinate and expand patient care and to address the problem of physician burnout. The report also stressed the importance of using technology, such as telemedicine, to connect primary care providers to specialists and of employing new practice models, such as visiting consultants, to provide greater access to care, especially in rural areas that have limited oncology resources.
"We avoided an oncology shortage 10 years ago, likely because the care model shifted so that oncologists were supported by a robust team of oncology staff, such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners, who could take on a range of tasks, freeing up oncologists to see more patients," said Hagop Kantarjian, MD, the chair of and a professor in the Department of Leukemia at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
Looking forward, Dr Peace sees greater evolution for the roles that physician assistants and nurse practitioners play in alleviating the workload demands in oncology. In fact, one report predicted that the number of physician assistants will increase significantly, from about 75,000 in 2010 to 128,000 by 2025.
In terms of garnering greater interest, Dr Regelmann thinks persuading medical students to pursue the primary care residencies, which are prerequisites for an oncology subspecialty, will ultimately get more young doctors interested in oncology.
"The residency training period may be prime time for young doctors to decide if they want to pursue a subspecialty training in oncology, as well as prime time for oncology fellowship programs to catch would-be oncologists," he said.
Mr Farber suggests starting even earlier, fostering interest in oncology in college or even high school students.
Expanding fellowship programs to deal with greater demand and curbing funding cuts would help capture more oncologists as well, though given the current state of federal funding, Dr Yu feels that this is not likely to happen.
Despite the impending oncology shortage, Dr Peace believes that this is a great time to be in the field.
"Both the older and younger generation have a palpable sense of the increasing rates of breakthroughs in cancer medicine through the application of genetic medicine and advances in pharmaceutical development," he said. "Anyone who has been in this area of medicine for the past 25 years has seen the introduction of treatments that were inconceivable when we started out our medical training. This shift makes for a career that is intellectually stimulating and allows for physicians to deliver meaningful, often life-extending, care to patients."
Dr Shreders agrees with Dr Peace that it is an exciting time to be an oncologist. "Today, with the remarkable advances in cancer therapeutics, I can tell my patient that his leukemia is gone, whereas 30 years ago that would not have been possible," she said. "Although many may view oncology as a depressing field, there are more happy moments than people know."
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