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Trends in Program Satisfaction and Perceived Confidence Levels Among United States Radiation Oncology Residents: A Five-Year Aggregate Analysis of the 2020-2024 ARRO Graduating Resident Survey.

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Title:	Trends in Program Satisfaction and Perceived Confidence Levels Among United States Radiation Oncology Residents: A Five-Year Aggregate Analysis of the 2020-2024 ARRO Graduating Resident Survey.
Authors:	Basree, Mustafa M¹ (AUTHOR) mustafabasree@gmail.com, MacDuffie, Emily² (AUTHOR), LeCompte, Michael³ (AUTHOR), White II, Zachary B⁴ (AUTHOR), Ogunmuyiwa, Joy⁵ (AUTHOR), Sharifzadeh, Yasamin⁶ (AUTHOR), Corrigan, Kelsey⁷ (AUTHOR), Neibart, Shane S⁸ (AUTHOR), Goodman, Chelain R⁹ (AUTHOR), Sim, Austin J¹⁰ (AUTHOR), Hutten, Ryan J¹ (AUTHOR), Currey, Adam¹¹ (AUTHOR), Pinnix, Chelsea C⁹ (AUTHOR), Kamrava, Mitchell¹² (AUTHOR), Nelson, Bailey¹³ (AUTHOR)
Source:	International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics. Sep2025, Vol. 123 Issue 1, pe4-e4. 1p.
Subjects:	Stereotactic radiotherapy, Intraoperative radiotherapy, Radiobiology, Proton therapy, Patient satisfaction
Abstract:	Transitioning from Radiation Oncology (RO) training to independent practice is often challenging. Understanding resident attitudes related to program satisfaction and comfort with treatment modalities is essential for improving resident experience. Between 2020 and 2024, the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO) conducted web-based surveys of graduating RO residents in the United States. Likert-style scales were utilized to capture responses and summarized using descriptive statistics. Chi-square tests assessed differences in response rates and nominal variables. Kruskal-Wallis H and Kendall's tau-b tests evaluated ordinal variable distributions and correlations, respectively. Ordinal logistic regression estimated associations between variables. Out of 952 invited graduating residents, a total of 820 completed the surveys, representing a median response rate of 86.5% (range, 77.8% to 93.7%). Ninety-one percent of residents were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their program (range, 89.6% to 94.0%). Dissatisfaction with clinical didactics (OR 5.34; p<0.001) and higher numbers of training sites (OR 5.73; p=0.01) were associated with program dissatisfaction. Compared to 2014-2015 ARRO survey, satisfaction improved in treatment planning (85%) and biostatistics (61%) domains, but declined in physics (76%) and radiation biology (68%) didactics. Compared to small programs (<6 residents), residents in larger programs reported greater satisfaction with training (e.g., clinical didactics, mentorship). Over a third of residents reported excessive (7.9%) or moderate (31.0%) non-physician-specific tasks, which decreased over survey years (adjusted p=0.049). Confidence levels varied between treatment modalities, with high perceived confidence for lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT; 96.1%) and non-spine bone SBRT (87.7%), and low perceived confidence for high dose rate (HDR; 25.7%) and low dose rate (LDR; 22.6%) prostate brachytherapy (BT). Residents reported receiving no or minimal training in certain specialized techniques, including MRI-guided radiation therapy (65.2%), intraoperative radiation therapy (47.3%), proton therapy (40.6%), and both HDR (41.1%) and LDR (32.0%) prostate BT. Graduating RO residents in this analysis were satisfied with their training programs, albeit with low perceived confidence in certain treatment modalities. A considerable proportion of residents reported no or minimal training is specialized treatment techniques. This data highlights areas of strength within RO training programs and identifies opportunities for improvement to produce graduates ready to enter independent practice with the full scope of RO techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Engineering Source

Description
Abstract:	Transitioning from Radiation Oncology (RO) training to independent practice is often challenging. Understanding resident attitudes related to program satisfaction and comfort with treatment modalities is essential for improving resident experience. Between 2020 and 2024, the Association of Residents in Radiation Oncology (ARRO) conducted web-based surveys of graduating RO residents in the United States. Likert-style scales were utilized to capture responses and summarized using descriptive statistics. Chi-square tests assessed differences in response rates and nominal variables. Kruskal-Wallis H and Kendall's tau-b tests evaluated ordinal variable distributions and correlations, respectively. Ordinal logistic regression estimated associations between variables. Out of 952 invited graduating residents, a total of 820 completed the surveys, representing a median response rate of 86.5% (range, 77.8% to 93.7%). Ninety-one percent of residents were very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their program (range, 89.6% to 94.0%). Dissatisfaction with clinical didactics (OR 5.34; p<0.001) and higher numbers of training sites (OR 5.73; p=0.01) were associated with program dissatisfaction. Compared to 2014-2015 ARRO survey, satisfaction improved in treatment planning (85%) and biostatistics (61%) domains, but declined in physics (76%) and radiation biology (68%) didactics. Compared to small programs (<6 residents), residents in larger programs reported greater satisfaction with training (e.g., clinical didactics, mentorship). Over a third of residents reported excessive (7.9%) or moderate (31.0%) non-physician-specific tasks, which decreased over survey years (adjusted p=0.049). Confidence levels varied between treatment modalities, with high perceived confidence for lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT; 96.1%) and non-spine bone SBRT (87.7%), and low perceived confidence for high dose rate (HDR; 25.7%) and low dose rate (LDR; 22.6%) prostate brachytherapy (BT). Residents reported receiving no or minimal training in certain specialized techniques, including MRI-guided radiation therapy (65.2%), intraoperative radiation therapy (47.3%), proton therapy (40.6%), and both HDR (41.1%) and LDR (32.0%) prostate BT. Graduating RO residents in this analysis were satisfied with their training programs, albeit with low perceived confidence in certain treatment modalities. A considerable proportion of residents reported no or minimal training is specialized treatment techniques. This data highlights areas of strength within RO training programs and identifies opportunities for improvement to produce graduates ready to enter independent practice with the full scope of RO techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	03603016
DOI:	10.1016/j.ijrobp.2025.05.026