SROA Soundboard

Amid the current RT shortage, competition for talent is fierce. Kevin Kindle,

Assistant Professor and Program Director Radiation Therapy at Augusta University, and senior students Nia Brown and Jeremiah Reeves, share their perspectives on the shortage and offer suggestions for administrators looking to hire.

Cancers centers across the country are grappling with an unprecedented RT shortage. Listen to gain insights and recommendations provided by Melissa Pergola, CEO and Executive Director of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, and Marissa Mangrum, Assistant Professor and Program Director, Radiation Therapy with The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences’ College of Allied Health.

“Targeting Exceptional Radiation Oncology” is the theme of this year’s Annual Meeting. SROA President Julie Abilheira and Chair Aaron Brammer provide a sneak peek at what attendees can expect. We hope to see you in Washington, DC, September 29–October 2.

Registration: Register Today

Conference Link: SROA Annual Meeting

Hotel Info: Grand Hyatt Washington

Leadership development matters more than ever in these times of tremendous change and increasing pressures. Ralph Gigliotti, an expert in organizational leadership and a senior leader at Rutgers University, talks with SROA about why healthcare organizations need to promote leadership development formally and informally and why leaders’ own self-reflection is so important.

Bio: Ralph Gigliotti

Books: Selected Books By Ralph Gigliotti

Deb Crowe, a certified life and leadership coach and author of The Heart-Centered Leadership Playbook, talks with SROA about why heart-centered leadership is important and how leaders can lead with passion, purpose and heart.

Website: Deb Crowe

Book: The Heart-Centered Leadership Playbook

At SROA’s 40th Annual Meeting Joanna Herath and Patty Saponaro gave a presentation on developing radiation oncology (rad onc) leaders. They spoke with SROA on how to build an effective training program for new rad onc leaders and how to help staff explore their leadership potential.

ASTRO has developed the Radiation Oncology Case Rate Program, or ROCR, which it believes is a better model for radiation oncology than the now defunct RO Model. ASTRO’s Anne Hubbard and Dr. Constantine Mantz explain why ROCR is a better solution to address reimbursement and care challenges radiation oncology currently faces.

SROA President Julie Abilheira shares initiatives the society is working on to help members, the strategic plan and the first-ever pre-conference workshop for new administrators.

05/04/2023

Metastatic cancer patients have fewer treatment options and much poorer outcomes than patientes diagnosed at earlier stages. Sam Mazin, cofounder and CTO of RefleXion Medical, talks with SROA about his hopes and plans for his company’s SCINTIX technology to treat metastatic disease. SCINTIX received FDA clearance in February 2023.

Website: RefleXion Medical

05/04/2023

Michael Leiter is an honorary professor of organizational psychology with Deakin University in Australia, an expert in burnout and coauthor of a new book, The Burnout Challenge.

Questions Answered During Podcast: 
 
1. Tell me briefly about your background and how you became an expert on burnout and engagement. 
 
2. Burnout was recognized as a big problem, then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. Where are we now with regard to burnout? 
 
3. Why is now a critical time for your book, The Burnout Challenge? 
 
4. How can an individual know if they’re experiencing burnout? 
 
5. In part II of the book, you explore six mismatches—workload, control, reward, community, fairness, and values. What are mismatches and why do they happen? 
 
6. There’s an example in the book of physicians being happiest when they practice “at the top of their license” but get “bogged down in administrative, bottom of their license” work. Who should do the “bottom of their license” work? And don’t those people also risk being burned out, too? 
 
7. In the book you recommend a “3C’s” approach that includes collaboration, customization, and commitment. Can you talk about the 3C’s—why are all three needed and how, when used together, can they bring about change?  
 
8. In Chapter 12, you touch on the challenge of fostering ongoing, continuous improvements in job person matches. How can leaders engage in continuous improvement to ensure there are more advantages than downsides in the job-person match? 
 
9. You talk about the medical checkup and the organizational checkup as a useful tool? How does it work and why do you think it can be an effective tool? 
 
10. Every great book has “Aha!” moments readers can connect with. What are the ones from your book that people have shared with you? 
 
11. What key takeaways would you share with healthcare administrators specifically regarding burnout and your book? 
 
12. What is not in the book that would be relevant to healthcare administrators? 
 
13. Are you optimistic that we can see a reduction in burnout at work and better job-person matches?