SU-F-P-22: Will the Low Residency Placement Rate Scare Talented Candidates Away from Our Profession?

Purpose: The low placement rate (∼25%) of medical physics residency match applicants is well-known to medical physics graduate students, and is beginning to be appreciated by prospective students. We examine this placement rate in detail and its potential impact on future recruitment into our profession based on survey data of both match applicants and program directors. Methods: To evaluate and validate residency placement rates, we analyzed annual CAMPEP graduate and residency program reports and data from individual graduate program websites. Programs were excluded if they had no graduates or ambiguous placement statistics. We surveyed medical physics match applicants and directors of CAMPEP-accredited residency programs to gauge their attitudes toward this placement rate. Results: Cumulative data extracted from program websites agreed with CAMPEP reports to within 20 graduates (7% error) and 2 residents (2% error) in 2013. The 2013 residency placement rate was 25.5% for MS and 30.8% for PhD graduates. Overall placement rates range from 0% to 66%. 108 match applicants and 40 program directors responded to the survey. The vast majority of graduates (85.2%) responded that the current residency placement rate is a problem for our profession, compared to only 40% of program directors. More strikingly, 40% of match applicants responded that they would reconsider entering the profession if they had prior knowledge of this residency placement rate. Conclusion: Our current residency placement rate presents a bleak picture to prospective students interested in board certified clinical practice. Survey data indicates that this may deter future students from our profession. While our profession seeks solutions, we have an ethical obligation to ensure that incoming students are fully educated about their professional prospects. Moreover, we must evaluate effects of current initiatives on the attractiveness of our education and training infrastructure to prevent the loss of talented future medical physicists.