Could enticing retired radiologists back into practice help solve the workforce crisis?
Many attendees were talking about the radiologist shortage at RSNA 2023 last month in Chicago, as hospitals and practices continue struggling to fill the position. But fewer are bringing up one simple solution: enticing older rads to come out of retirement.
Radiologist Howard B. Fleishon, MD, discussed this possibility in an opinion piece published Saturday in JACR [1]. He noted that the number of people in the labor force who are 75 or older is projected to grow 96.5% by 2030, presenting a potentially ample supply of labor to fill key gaps on the imaging care team.
“Numerous solutions have been proposed to address the radiologist shortage,” Fleishon, past president of the American College of Radiology and a professor at Emory University, wrote Jan. 6. “Many practices are revising their retention policies,” he added later. “However, one opportunity which seems to be underutilized is enticing retired radiologists back into practice.”
“Fortunately,” he added, radiology has no mandatory retirement age, and many older members of the specialty remain capable of adding value to the care team. Convincing retirees to do so might require special “recruiting considerations” such as shorter workdays, teleradiology options, or a focus on less-advanced work.
Fleishon urged ACR and the rest of the profession to help promote this solution by publicizing case examples about integrating retired rads into practice. Organizations also can provide resources in career centers to help match retirees with part-time positions.
“Addressing our workforce shortage will require a multifaceted approach,” Fleishon wrote. “Looking at a ‘silver squad’ of retired radiologists who can help decompress the work list should be a strong consideration for any practice or department.”
Read the rest at the link below.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.