Radiologists among docs most optimistic about profession’s short-term future
Radiologists are among the physician specialists most optimistic about their profession’s short-term future, according to new survey data from Medscape.
About 69% of rads surveyed said they have positive perceptions of the specialty’s outlook over the next three years. That places radiology No. 1 on the list ahead of only oncology (67%) and otolaryngology (66%).
However, radiology dropped to 18th on the list of specialists when asked how they feel about their profession’s long-term future. Only about 42% of rads shared an optimistic outlook, a 27 percentage-point drop. Oncology led this list at 70%, followed by psychiatrists (57%) and plastic surgeons (55%).
“Oncologists and psychiatrists were optimistic about their specialty's prospects in both the near and longer terms. But the decline in optimism among radiologists over their specialty's long-term future was substantial, and it was worrisome that internal medicine fell to the very bottom of the list (at 20%),” Medscape’s Jennifer Nelson wrote April 21.
The findings are based on a survey of nearly 6,000 physicians across around 30 specialties (including about 177 radiologists), conducted between September and December. Only about 8% of radiologists surveyed said they’re pessimistic about the specialty’s short-term future. Public health/preventive medicine placed first on this list at 46%, followed by nephrologists (43%) and OB-GYN specialists (37%). About 22% of rads polled said they’re pessimistic about the profession’s long-term future, Medscape found. OB-GYN (50%), internal medicine (47%) and family medicine (44%) led this list.
Asked to rate the most appealing specialties over the next three years, docs cited dermatology and orthopedics as No. 1, both at 54%, followed by cardiology (34%) and anesthesiology (34%). Radiology fell to sixth on this list at 27%, tied with emergency medicine. When asked what shaped their positive perceptions about each specialty in the short-term, “potential compensation” was the No. 1 driver, at 71%, the survey found. Work-life balance (57%), reimbursement rates (53%) and career prospects/job security (45%) were other popular answers.
Overall, 73% of respondents said they would choose a career in medicine again. About 76% said they would choose the same specialty again, but only 30% indicated they would select the same practice setting.
“Specialty loyalty is strong as physicians felt more confident in their specific field rather than their broader career choice, a meaningful distinction,” Medscape noted. “Practice setting was the real source of regret, with only 30% wanting to practice in the same setting that they currently do, suggesting that the specialty and medicine in general aren't as much of a problem as how and where physicians practice.”
Read much more about the results here.
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.