The 2007 Radiation Therapy Staffing Survey shows that the vacancy rate for radiation therapists has been declining in recent years and is now in the single digits at 5.4 per cent.

The 2007 Radiation Therapy Staffing Survey, conducted by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, shows that the vacancy rate for radiation therapists has been declining in recent years and is now in the single digits at 5.4 per cent. This is slightly lower than the vacancy rate for other radiation oncology professionals. Results of the survey showed the typical facility reported a 2007 budget providing for slightly more than five full-time radiation therapists, 1.5 medical dosimetrists, 1.1 medical physicists, 1.9 radiation oncologists, 1.9 nurses and 2.4 administrative staff positions. The survey also showed that the budget provided for almost no physician assistants. Half of those who responded said their facilities were located in a community hospital. Thirty-four per cent were located in free-standing clinics and nearly nine per cent were located in university medical centers. Less than three per cent said they worked in a teaching facility and less than two per cent worked for a government hospital. Nearly all the facilities provided conformal radiation therapy delivery and 75 to 95 per cent of them provided CT simulation, brachytherapy and intensity modulated radiation therapy. Almost half of the facilities provided stereotactic/gamma knife/Mammosite, 36 per cent provided fractionated stereotactic therapy and 24 per cent provided whole-body irradiation and pediatric therapy. The survey also indicated that university medical centers provided significantly more services than did community hospitals. Vacancy rates, defined as per cent of budgeted full-time-equivalent positions currently vacant but being actively recruited, were 5.4 per cent for radiation therapists, nearly nine per cent for medical dosimetrists, 10.7 per cent for medical physicists, 10.4 per cent for radiation oncologists, 7.2 per cent for nurses and seven per cent and 7.4 per cent, respectively, for ancillary and administrative staff positions. When asked about the difficulty level in recruiting from among the radiation oncology specialties, between 49 and 85 per cent (depending upon the specialty) of the respondents said it was the same as it had been in 2006. Among those who perceived there was a change, nearly 40 per cent said recruiting radiation therapists had become less difficult. The vacancy rate for radiation therapists as reported by respondents to this year's staffing survey was lower - five per cent, averaging across the two years - than was reported by respondents to the 2005 staffing survey, which was reported at seven per cent. The vacancy rates reported for each of the other seven specialties listed this year were higher than 2004-2005 vacancy rates. "However," cautioned Richard Harris, Ph.D., ASRT's director of research, "it is not clear whether these differences are statistically significant, nor whether they might be due to the somewhat broader population from which this year's sample was drawn. It's certainly interesting, however, that the radiation therapist and other-specialty vacancy rates are going in opposite directions. The reported decline in the radiation therapist vacancy rate is consistent with feedback obtained from radiation therapy educational program directors in ASRT's annual enrollment snapshots." "Declining vacancy rates confirm that more people are entering the radiation therapy profession, probably thanks to the combination of higher wages and strong growth projections," said ASRT Executive Vice President and Chief Academic Officer Sal Martino. "We appreciate the cooperation and response from survey respondents. Their willingness to provide us with data makes these surveys more relevant." To view the survey results, visit www.asrt.org > Studies & Surveys > ASRT Research. Source: ASRT

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