More oncologists and nurses needed nationwide

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is working to stem the looming shortage of oncologists, oncologists, and support staff.

“Doctors tend to live in cities, and we have quite a few of them. It is the rural areas that are struggling to attract all the members of the team,” said Dr. Steven Grubbs of ASCO. “I have practices that have oncologists in rural areas and the challenge is to help nurse practitioners and best practice providers help them.”

Recent studies show that 1 in 5 practicing oncologists is approaching retirement age and only 14.5% of medical oncologists work as early oncologists.

Grubbs said that over the past decade, oncologists have changed their approach to collective care. This is facilitated by the presence of a team that includes highly qualified nurses and oncology nurses.

Across the country, teams are reviewing the system to better serve patients, including using hubs and telemedicine to help rural families.

ASCO is also trying to attract healthier, healthier retired doctors.

“What drives early retirement is what we see in the medical field and it’s the burnout issues we see,” Grubbs said. “If we can fight burnout, I think we can stop some of these retirees from saying, ‘I’ve had enough’.”

The group is also working to create a more diverse workforce.

“We have a number of active and active programs to bring in more and more underrepresented students to change the face of our workforce,” Grubbs said.

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