Canterbury Regional Cancer and Haematology Service, Christchurch Hospital, locked bag 4710, Christchurch 8001, New Zealand.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists Level 9, 51 Druitt Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia.
N Z Med J. 2020 Dec 18;133(1527):15-25.
This paper outlines the results of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) Faculty of Radiation Oncology (FRO) 2018 workforce census. Here we report the responses of New Zealand radiation oncologists and trainees in order to understand characteristics of the New Zealand radiation oncology workforce.
The workforce census was conducted online during July-September 2018. Distribution was by Survey Monkey to all radiation oncologists (fellows, life members, educational affiliates, retired) and trainees on the RANZCR membership database, including members from Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. All responses were aggregated for analysis. This paper addresses only responses from New Zealand members. The census was designed to explore issues relevant to the New Zealand workforce, and questions from previous workforce censuses were repeated in order to monitor trends.
The response rate for New Zealand radiation oncologists was 73.3% (44/60). The majority (67%) were male. The average age was 50.8 years. Three-fifths (59.5%) reported New Zealand ethnicity. One-third obtained their specialist qualifications outside of Australia and New Zealand. Most worked in the public sector only (63.4%), with only two in exclusive private practice. Most radiation oncologists attained a consultant post immediately on completion of training, but there were 26 who pursued an overseas fellowship. Most worked one full-time equivalent or greater (FTE), with 17.5% working less than 1.0 FTE. Radiation oncologists reported working a median of 50.0 hours per week, with half working over 10 hours above their contracted hours. Most time was spent on clinical duties with minimal time spent on research. Radiation oncologists reported seeing an average of 235 new patients per year (median: 230). Leadership positions were held by 21/43 respondents. Within 15 years, 55% of the current workforce reported an intention to retire, including 30% of those currently practising highly specialised brachytherapy. Females in the workforce were less likely to work fulltime and spent less time in research and management activities. All trainees reported full-time work, although 50% expressed a desire for part-time training. Half of the trainees reported working 6-10 hours on call, and 60% reported two or less hours of protected teaching per week. Despite this, 90% of trainees were satisfied with their career choice.
Radiation oncology is a small specialty in New Zealand, with a significant reliance on overseas-trained specialists. The specialty continues to work significant overtime hours while time spent on research and non-clinical duties remains low. The growth in staffing between the 2014 and 2018 census has been low. Trainee numbers do not appear sufficient to meet the demand for replacing staff, due to retirements and the reduction of hours. Radiation intervention rates are low in New Zealand, but growth would be reliant on an expansion of the workforce beyond simply replacing staff losses. The radiation oncology workforce in New Zealand remains vulnerable, and careful consideration must be given to expansion and retention to ensure a viable workforce for the future.
本文概述了澳大利亚皇家和新西兰放射科医师学院（RANZCR）放射肿瘤学系（FRO）2018 年劳动力普查的结果。在此，我们报告了新西兰放射肿瘤学家和受训者的回应，以了解新西兰放射肿瘤学劳动力的特征。
劳动力普查于 2018 年 7 月至 9 月期间在线进行。通过 Survey Monkey 将普查分配给 RANZCR 会员数据库中的所有放射肿瘤学家（研究员、终身会员、教育附属会员、退休）和受训者，包括来自澳大利亚、新西兰和新加坡的会员。所有回复均汇总进行分析。本文仅涉及新西兰会员的回复。该普查旨在探讨与新西兰劳动力相关的问题，并重复了以前的劳动力普查中的问题，以监测趋势。
新西兰放射肿瘤学家的回复率为 73.3%（44/60）。大多数（67%）为男性。平均年龄为 50.8 岁。五分之三（59.5%）报告了新西兰种族。三分之一的人在澳大利亚和新西兰以外获得专业资格。大多数人仅在公共部门工作（63.4%），只有两人在独家私人诊所工作。大多数放射肿瘤学家在完成培训后立即获得顾问职位，但有 26 人在海外进行了进修。大多数人每周工作一个全职等效或更多（FTE），其中 17.5%的人每周工作少于 1.0 FTE。放射肿瘤学家报告每周工作中位数为 50.0 小时，其中一半人的工作时间超过合同规定时间 10 小时以上。大多数时间用于临床工作，用于研究的时间很少。放射肿瘤学家报告说，每年平均接待 235 名新患者（中位数：230 名）。21/43 名受访者担任领导职务。在 15 年内，当前劳动力的 55%报告打算退休，其中包括目前从事高度专业化近距离放射治疗的 30%。劳动力中的女性不太可能全职工作，并且在研究和管理活动中花费的时间较少。所有受训者都报告全职工作，尽管 50%的人表示希望接受兼职培训。一半的受训者报告说，他们每小时要值班 6-10 小时，60%的人报告说每周有两小时或更少的受保护教学时间。尽管如此，90%的受训者对自己的职业选择感到满意。
放射肿瘤学在新西兰是一个小专业，严重依赖海外培训的专家。该专业仍在加班加点，而用于研究和非临床工作的时间仍然很少。与 2014 年至 2018 年普查相比，员工人数的增长较低。由于退休和工作时间减少，受训者人数似乎不足以满足接替员工的需求。新西兰的放射介入率较低，但要增加工作人员数量，除了弥补人员损失外，还必须依赖劳动力的扩张。新西兰的放射肿瘤学劳动力仍然很脆弱，必须认真考虑扩大和保留劳动力，以确保未来有一个可行的劳动力。
