Mudit Chowdhary1, Neilayan Sen1, Gaurav Marwaha1, Ashley A Weiner2, Neha Vapiwala3, Kirtesh R Patel4, Trevor J Royce5. 1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois. 2. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 3. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 4. Department of Therapeutic Radiology, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. 5. Department of Radiation Oncology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Electronic address: trevor_royce@med.unc.edu.
Abstract
PURPOSE: The size and growth of U.S. radiation oncology (RO) residency positions have important implications for the RO workforce. There are no data on residency growth by geographic region, major urban centers, and program size. We aim to fill this gap. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A database of all RO programs and positions from 2003 to 2018 was created using National Resident Matching Program data. Programs were categorized by U.S. Census Bureau geographic region, major metropolitan location (top 10 combined statistical area vs all other), and program size (small [≤6 trainees], medium [7-12], and large [>12 trainees]). Linear regression with interaction terms was used to determine the effect of region, major metropolitan location, and program size on RO program and position growth over time. RESULTS: There has been a 69% (54-91) and 82% (106-193) increase in the number of RO programs and annual positions from 2003 to 2018. Differences in program and position growth, respectively, were seen in each category. Growth in the Northeast (92% and 83%), South (81% and 113%), and West (125% and 130%) has outpaced the Midwest (17% and 33%). Growth in top 10 metropolitan areas (77% and 92%) is higher than in all other areas (63% and 73%). Growth in medium (68% and 80%) and large (175% and 153%) programs is greater than in smaller (36% and 33%) programs. CONCLUSIONS: There has been a major increase in the number of RO residency programs and positions over the past 15 years. Growth is occurring in every major category but there are differences in magnitude within each category. This information can inform future decisions about RO training programs in the United States.
PURPOSE: The size and growth of U.S. radiation oncology (RO) residency positions have important implications for the RO workforce. There are no data on residency growth by geographic region, major urban centers, and program size. We aim to fill this gap. METHODS AND MATERIALS: A database of all RO programs and positions from 2003 to 2018 was created using National Resident Matching Program data. Programs were categorized by U.S. Census Bureau geographic region, major metropolitan location (top 10 combined statistical area vs all other), and program size (small [≤6 trainees], medium [7-12], and large [>12 trainees]). Linear regression with interaction terms was used to determine the effect of region, major metropolitan location, and program size on RO program and position growth over time. RESULTS: There has been a 69% (54-91) and 82% (106-193) increase in the number of RO programs and annual positions from 2003 to 2018. Differences in program and position growth, respectively, were seen in each category. Growth in the Northeast (92% and 83%), South (81% and 113%), and West (125% and 130%) has outpaced the Midwest (17% and 33%). Growth in top 10 metropolitan areas (77% and 92%) is higher than in all other areas (63% and 73%). Growth in medium (68% and 80%) and large (175% and 153%) programs is greater than in smaller (36% and 33%) programs. CONCLUSIONS: There has been a major increase in the number of RO residency programs and positions over the past 15 years. Growth is occurring in every major category but there are differences in magnitude within each category. This information can inform future decisions about RO training programs in the United States.
Authors: Sanjay Aneja; Benjamin D Smith; Cary P Gross; Lynn D Wilson; Bruce G Haffty; Kenneth Roberts; James B Yu Journal: Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Date: 2011-04-13 Impact factor: 7.038
Authors: Mudit Chowdhary; Jeffrey M Switchenko; Neilayan Sen; Arpit M Chhabra; Leah M Katz; Naresh K Jegadeesh; Parul N Barry; Dian Wang; Trevor J Royce; Walter J Curran; Neha Vapiwala; Lynn D Wilson; Ross A Abrams; Gaurav Marwaha; Kirtesh R Patel Journal: Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Date: 2018-12-21 Impact factor: 7.038
Authors: Mudit Chowdhary; Arpit M Chhabra; Jeffrey M Switchenko; Jaymin Jhaveri; Neilayan Sen; Pretesh R Patel; Walter J Curran; Ross A Abrams; Kirtesh R Patel; Gaurav Marwaha Journal: Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys Date: 2017-04-24 Impact factor: 7.038