SROA members began Day 2 of SROA’s 2022 Annual Meeting with a general session called, “Centering Diversity in Radiation Oncology: The What, The Why, and The How.” Dr. Parul Berry, Dr. Jerry Jaboin and Dr. Ivy Franco provided historical context about diversity and shared some of the personal challenges they have encountered as radiation oncologists from underrepresented minority groups. They offered numerous concrete suggestions on how radiation oncology departments and centers can diversify their radiation oncologist staff and improve their retention. Some suggestions include: giving less weight to test scores; exploring more deeply the reasons for lower test scores (for example, due to lack of financial resources to take test prep courses); and having standardized questions for all interviewees. The panelists also talked about ways to improve retention such as ensuring that the HR partners have the appropriate expertise for specific circumstances.

In her workshop at SROA’s 2022 Annual Meeting, Michele Krohn advocated for a back-to-basics approach ensuring front desk teams provide optimal customer service.

Somebody will make a judgment about your practice in the first seven seconds. Common sense is key, but it seems to be a lost art. The patient is the customer, but people like family, caregivers, representatives and the general public also take account.

Dr. Ruth Gotian spoke about mentorship at SROA’s 2022 Annual Meeting. She said we need four roles in our life:

• Role Model is someone you want to become.
• Mentor talks with you (an extended period of time).
• Coach talks at you (pushes you, holds you accountable; a finite period of time.
• Sponsor talks about you (people who nominate you for committees, award)

Tim David gave SROA’s keynote presentation on the principles of human connection at SROA’s 2022 Annual Meeting. He said every organization has at least one person they don’t feel connected to. While people may be frustrating or challenging, we can make some tweaks to make them less so. Connection can create consistency and reliability and make our interactions more joyful.

Managing a radiation oncology department is complex and requires managing many tasks in parallel: overseeing staff, implementing new technologies or treatment options, accreditation, inspections, financial reports, etc. How do radiation oncology administrators keep their departments running smoothly?  

Automation is key. Quickly becoming a clinical staple, automation enables departments to do more in less time, transforming workflows for better quality, safety, and efficiency. Providing staff members with the necessary automation tools is an easy way to ensure top-quality patient care.  

Leader Standard Work (LSW) is a tool that is being used more often in health care. LSW is one of the tools within Lean’s management system. It’s an effective tool for organizing one’s schedule, setting priorities and managing one’s time. The LSW concept is based on processes and achieving goals, supporting stainability and, to some degree, succession planning.  

This blog post is adapted from “Is AI Reshaping the Medical Dosimetrist’s Role,” which was published in Radiation Oncology News for Administrators, Vol. 32 No. 2.

A 2020 Nature article says, “AI could have particularly transformative applications in radiation oncology given the multifaceted and highly technical nature of this field of medicine with a heavy reliance on digital data processing and computer software. . . . AI has the potential to improve the accuracy, precision, efficiency and overall quality of radiation therapy for patients with cancer.”¹ Two medical dosimetrists share how they’re using AI and its implications for their profession and patient care.

It’s well documented that the healthcare workforce has been hit hard by the pandemic. Burnout and stress have caused unprecedented rates of departure. At the same time, COVID-19 precipitated a time in which workers have greater opportunities to change jobs for more money, better benefits and more favorable work conditions.

Healthcare employers have to fill many vacancies and simultaneously retain current staff. In “Hiring staff during the great resignation,” Aine Cryts presents hiring strategies for front desk and medical assistant staff, administrative staff and clinical staff. One strategy is to post openings locally (such as through a relevant Facebook group). Other options include hiring people part-time and offering staff a flexible work schedule; both offer employers a chance to save money on health insurance and other benefits. The article also emphasizes the need to have pay rates for one’s specific market. Flexibility for all kinds of hires seems to be key.

Renowned psychologist Christina Maslach, who created the Maslach Burnout Inventory, has remarked that even before the pandemic healthcare workers were at a higher risk for burnout. The pandemic has exacerbated the burnout problem as care providers and caretakers have struggled to keep pace.¹ According a survey highlighted in a March 2022 HealthcareDive article, one-third of nurses plan to quit their jobs by the end of this year.² Physician burnout increased from 42 percent in 2020 to 47 percent in 2021 according to the Medscape Physician Burnout & Depression Report 2022: Stress, Anxiety and Anger.³ The report notes that “Most physicians said that burnout permeates most aspects of their lives, with 54% indicating that the impact was strong to severe, including with their relationships.”³

Since the pandemic has worsened burnout and the coronavirus continues to stretch the country’s healthcare resources to their limits, how can healthcare leaders help their teams tackle burnout? We highlight several recent articles that offer suggestions.

This article is adapted, in part, from an article that appeared in SROA’s publication, Radiation Oncology for Administrators (Vol 31 No 5).

Many medical physicists have shared their concerns with me about their overwhelming workloads and exhaustion. Debbie Schofield decided to explore the prevalence of burnout in the medical physicist community as part of her doctoral studies. She conducted a study about job-related attitudes and burnout in the medical physics profession.