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Transitioning Roles from Residency to Attending Physician in Radiation Oncology

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Abstract

Moving from the role of resident into that of a young attending is one of the most anticipated transitions in a medical trainee’s career path. Radiation oncology residency training is typically apprentice-style focused in the outpatient setting, which carries additional unique challenges. Twenty-seven junior attendings at academic institutions within their first 5 years of practice were sent an online open-ended questionnaire in 2018 regarding aspects of their practice using a snowball sampling method. Responses were collected, and a thematic analysis was conducted in which two independent reviewers coded the responses. Nineteen junior attendings (70%) from 18 institutions completed the questionnaire. General themes included the importance of cultivating relationships for peer support and to be professional and polite as confidence was gained to enable them to be seen as an attending. All respondents felt that bringing an open mind, balance, and adaptability was crucial in their transition. Respondents stayed up to date on literature and practices by subscribing to journals, courses, and participation in resident education. Forty-two percent of young attendings were matched with a mentor at their new institution through a formal mentor-mentee relationship. Respondents wished that they had more autonomy during residency to prepare for independent practice. Transitioning from residency to a junior attending provides unique stressors and challenges. Allowing for residents to have more autonomy during their training, such as a senior resident clinic, may help improve this transition by providing an opportunity for independent decision-making with guidance as appropriate.

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Acknowledgment

We would like to thank the following contributors: Hilary Bagshaw, M.D., Stanford University; Lindsay Burt, M.D., University of Utah; Delnora Erickson, M.D., Walter Reed; Greg Gan, M.D., University of New Mexico, Erin Gillespie Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Jillian Gunther, M.D., M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; Rachel Jimenez, M.D., Massachusetts General Hospital; Matthew Orton, M.D., Indiana University Health Arnett; Christopher Tinkle, M.D., St. Jude Cancer Center; Daniel Trifiletti, M.D., Mayo Clinic Jacksonville; Chad Rusthoven, M.D., University of Colorado; Nicholas Serrano, M.D., Virginia Commonwealth University; Matthew Schutzer, M.D., Virginia Commonwealth University; Jessica Schuster, M.D., University of Wisconsin Madison; Siddharth Saraiya, M.D., University of Toledo; Raphael Yechieli, M.D., University of Miami.

Funding

The project described was partially supported by CTSA award no. UL1TR002649 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, 3181 S. W. Sam Jackson Park Rd, Portland, OR, 97239, USA

    Jenna M. Kahn

  2. School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, 730 East Broad St, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    Deborah DiazGranados

  3. Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 401 College Street, Richmond, VA, 23298, USA

    Emma C. Fields

Authors
  1. Jenna M. Kahn
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  2. Deborah DiazGranados
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  3. Emma C. Fields
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Jenna Kahn, Emma Fields, and Deborah DiazGranados. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Jenna Kahn and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jenna M. Kahn.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Kahn, J.M., DiazGranados, D. & Fields, E. Transitioning Roles from Residency to Attending Physician in Radiation Oncology. J Canc Educ 37, 1179–1185 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01936-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01936-6

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