I am a PGY-5 female at a top 15 (per Doximity) program. I can't say more than that because - as you may have heard - there aren't that many of us, and I don't want to out myself.
I've avoided this board since I started residency because I found the negativity distracting. Since I had committed to this field, I felt like it was only bringing me down to spend time on here reading all the doom and gloom. But now I have something to confess:
I would not choose radonc again. I know I'm preaching to the choir, but I think as many voices as possible need to be heard detailing the
suffering that residency expansion has wrought on so many of us now and likely in years to come.
The last five years have been tough on my husband and me. Like most female doctors, I married someone similarly high-achieving who NEEDS to be in a major city to do his job. I was aware from the start that this might be difficult to guarantee in radiation oncology, but, like all of you, I love this field. I love the patients, the technology, and the work we do. I got into a very good residency and I was assured time and again (by other interviewees, upper level residents, attendings) that if I did well in our program I should not worry about finding a job. None of our residents ever had, they said. So I took a leap and committed five years of my life to this amazing field. I've done well in residency. I published on a variety of topics, and I'm well liked in our department, but there was always this specter of the job search haunting me.
I was optimistic when I started my job hunt earlier this year. I really just wanted to be in the same city as my husband without a huge commute for either of us. He was even willing to switch locations within his firm, if necessary, to accommodate my job (love him <3). But from the outset there was very little available in any city that would work for him.
I interviewed with a variety of academic places, and had a couple offers for low quality pseudo-academic satellite positions with private practice workload for academic pay. There were some opportunities with historically malignant churn-and-burn private practices. Then, a few weeks ago, one of the docs at our institution used one of his connections to help me find the kind of job I was looking for - the kind of job I went into medicine for. Nothing extravagant, but a mid-six figure salary that would allow me to pay off my loans and support our family. I had a phone interview and they seemed interested and invited me out for a site visit.
Yesterday, they called to cancel. The new general supervision change, they said, had caused them to hold off hiring this year. Maybe in the future. They were, of course, very sorry. And how can I blame them? They are doing what's best for themselves and their practice.
So here I am, in the winter of my PGY-5 year, without any job, and dwindling hope of finding one that isn't exploitative. My husband is, as always, super supportive, and fortunately makes enough that - at least temporarily - we can both survive on his salary. I know I still have six months left, but my stress level is through the roof. It feels like the walls are closing in and I really might end up unemployed. One of my co-residents had a offer pulled as well.
This is an employment crisis for me and for many others. But more importantly,
it's a women's issue. And what I came on here to rant about is that
NOT ONE SINGLE HIGH PROFILE RADONC WOMAN has said anything about this. Not Reshma Jagsi, Malika Siker, Fumiko Chino... none of the twitter celebs have touched this with a ten foot pole. When they have, they have largely supported getting more women and minorities into the field.
REALLY?! MORE?! So they can end up jobless and desperate like me five years from now?!
So what I really came on here to say, in addition to sharing this story, is to say that the #womenwhocurie thing is a farce.
THERE IS ONLY ONE "WOMEN'S ISSUE" IN THIS FIELD, and it is RESIDENCY EXPANSION. Women are
more likely than men to have geographically-restricted spouses. This is not controversial. I can see this in my own program: several of the male residents I've known were married to NPs or PAs, one stay-at-home mom, one to another doc. They could pretty much move anywhere they wanted and cast a job search net across the whole country. But ALL of the female residents I know (in radonc or elsewhere) are married either to other doctors (they are probably the most flexible) or to lawyers/consultants/financiers. These people, as does my husband, need to be in big cities to do their work.
AS THE JOB MARKET TIGHTENS IT WILL CONTINUE TO DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT WOMEN. And minorities too, because I don't know many POCs who want to go work in rural appalachia.
So here I am - a living embodiment of why radonc is a terrible field for many women (or men with geographically restricted spouses - I know there are plenty of you out there too
). But when I go to some of these women's meetings I don't hear a peep about it. All we talk about is things that don't matter. I've never met anyone in power in this field who was the least bit sexist to me, or who didn't go above and beyond to mentor me (male or female). People call me Dr. X - and when they don't, it doesn't harm me in the least, and I'm not at all offended by it.
BUT I WANT A JOB. And the idea that all I need is a good pep talk and a hashtag is, to be frank, demeaning and a bit sexist.
When I almost decided not to enter this field, I didn't do it because of some implicit bias or whatever unprovable gobbledygook people are attributing it to these days, I did it because
I am a rational human being making choices about what's best for me and my family. And now, five years, as an almost-equally rational human being, I would advise anyone reading this not to choose it.
Please do not make the same mistake I did. Please listen. If you are a student applying, or a PGY-1 in a prelim-IM program (really if you are in any position to feasibly bail out of radiation oncology) I would advise that you do it.
The sky really is falling.
I just want a job near my husband. I want to be able to have a family and a decent income and a fulfilling job helping cancer patients. I don't care about all the academic politics and power moves and heaping blame on men. These people went on and on expanding their residencies in a way that knew was unsustainable and now we will all pay the price for it. And instead of acknowledging this or trying to fix it, they are silent. I wish they would stand up and use their voices to help women in this field in the best way they can: cut residency spots,
drastically and
immediately. Frankly, if you want to show you are an advocate for women... #heforshe or #sheforshe.... this is the only meaningful thing you can do.
jamanetwork.com
I have wronged you and I recant!