Protected Time, Resources, and Expectations for Academic Oncology Clinical Research Physicians

Area of Science:

• Oncology Research Faculty Support
• Physician Scientist Career Development

Background:

• Fewer physicians are entering research careers, necessitating adequate time and financial support for high-quality research.
• Resources for physician researchers can fluctuate over time and across institutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess changes in physician faculty recruitment, effort, and evaluation between 2019 and 2021.
• To analyze the resources and clinical requirements for clinical research faculty and physician-scientists.

Main Methods:

• Surveys were distributed to NCCN Member Institutions in 2019 and 2021.
• Statistical models (linear, logistic mixed-effect, Spearman's rank correlation) were used to analyze survey data.

Main Results:

• Clinical research faculty start-up packages were less than $50,000/year at 43% of institutions and lasted ≤3 years at 81%.
• Physician-scientist faculty start-up packages were less than $50,000/year at 10% of institutions and lasted ≤3 years at 48%.
• Outpatient clinic requirements for clinical research faculty remained stable, while inpatient service requirements decreased.

Conclusions:

• Clinical research physicians represent a variable proportion of faculty across cancer centers.
• These physicians face diverse clinical demands, with evaluation increasingly tied to clinical productivity.