Leadership Training for U.S. Radiation Oncology Residents: Results of a Pilot Program

Abstract

The importance of cultivating and training physician leaders has garnered increased attention in recent years. We reviewed the existing literature on leadership training in radiation oncology (RO) residencies and subsequently implemented a leadership-training program at our institution. Following a literature search for existing leadership curricula in U.S. RO programs, a pilot leadership-training program was initiated at a single RO residency. An anonymous needs assessment characterized exposure to leadership development training prior to residency as well as perceived value of physician leadership training during residency. Results helped shape the inaugural leadership development program. This was comprised of pre-reading material, a chairman’s lecture on his leadership journey, multiple interactive activities, a team building exercise, and a de-briefing session aimed at helping participants understand their personality types, strengths, and weaknesses. An anonymous post-program survey was disseminated to assess participant satisfaction and next steps. A literature search demonstrated no data on formal RO resident leadership programming and associated results in indexed publications. Regarding the pre-session needs assessment, complete surveys were returned by 11/11 residents (100% response rate); 82% of residents reported no prior formal leadership training, and 82% felt leadership training is very important to their future career as a physician. Regarding course format, 100% of residents stated they would prefer small groups/discussion based seminars; only 18% felt lecture-based approaches would be valuable. The topics of greatest interest were characteristics of effective leaders and teams (100%), effective communication (91%), and conflict resolution (73%). The post-session survey revealed that 100% of residents felt the program either met (36%) or exceeded (64%) expectations, with no resident stating it failed to meet expectations. One hundred percent stated they would recommend leadership development training to fellow residents. All stated the pre-reading material was worthwhile. Regarding future programming opportunities, 100% stated a preference for discussion-based seminars with the majority requesting a focus on conflict resolution (73%) and effective communication (64%). To our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the development and execution of a leadership-training program targeted specifically for RO residents in the United States. Very few respondents had any leadership training preceding residency yet felt that formal leadership development training is very important to their future career. The post-session survey demonstrated high satisfaction with the program. Despite the current lack of this type of programming in residency curricula, these results demonstrate the high value of leadership development for RO trainees.