Radiation Oncology Workforce: Supply and Demand

Since 2017, the specialty of radiation oncology has experienced its fifth consecutive year of decline in residency applicants, resulting in a high number of unmatched positions. The cause of this precipitous decline is multifactorial. Factors cited include concerns about future job opportunities, the decreased pass rate in the ABR radiation biology and physics boards examinations in 2018, and the continued lack of formal exposure to radiation oncology during medical school training. We summarize the issues facing the field of radiation oncology and discuss how we could learn from similar experiences in diagnostic radiology and other specialties to address these concerns. We propose potential solutions to ensure an adequate and diverse number of residency applicants to serve the future workforce needs in radiation oncology.