A report on Rhode Island's efforts to ameliorate the CTR shortage

There is a growing local and national shortfall of certified tumor registrars (CTRs). To address this concern in our state, the Rhode Island Cancer Registry (RICR) created an internship program with the hope of attracting new people to the cancer registry field. This article outlines the reasons why RICR believes the central registry is uniquely well-suited to training new personnel, given our unparalleled statewide perspective on the accuracy and completeness of reporting at every hospital and freestanding radiation center that reports to RICR. In addition, this paper examines recruitment, approaches to training, and reflections on the experience here in Rhode Island. In short, RICR piloted a central registry-based training program that could be worthwhile to replicate. This information may be useful to other states attempting to ease their workforce shortage.