2012 ACR Commission on Human Resources Workforce Survey

Purpose: No reliable data exist to accurately track trends in the radiology workforce. To fill this void, the ACR Commission on Human Resources undertook an electronic survey to better understand the present workforce situation for radiologists. Methods: The Practice of Radiology Environment Database (R) of 1,994 practices nationwide was used to identify practice leaders, who were asked to complete an electronic survey internally developed by the commission with the support of an outside consultant. The survey asked group leaders or their designates to report the number of radiologists they currently employ or supervise, the number hired in 2011, the number they plan to hire in 2012, and the number they plan to hire in 2014. Group leaders were asked to report subspecialty information for all radiologists in their practices. Results: Twenty-five percent of practice leaders (n = 504), corresponding to 31% of the total number of physicians practicing radiology or radiation oncology (n = 10,946), completed the survey. Practice leaders reported that 35% of the current workforce consists of general radiologists and 65% of specialists. Body imagers make up the largest category, followed by general interventional radiologists, neuroradiologists, and breast imagers. The results obtained allow a projection that approximately 1,241 radiologists were hired in 2011, 1,103 positions will be available in 2012, and 1,227 radiologists are expected to be hired in 2014. Conclusions: As a result of the data collected from the practices surveyed, it seems that there should be a job available for each of the 1,200 residents who complete their training programs each year, but the jobs may not necessarily be in the subspecialties, geographic areas, or types of practices that residents desire.