ASPO Abstracts
Challenges Faced by Medical Professionals Choosing Careers in Cancer Prevention and Academic Medicine
Category: Behavioral Science & Health Communication, Cancer Health Disparities
Conference Year: 2018
Abstract Body:
There is a need for more cancer prevention physicians, but clinicians face many barriers at different stages of their careers that may deter them from pursuing cancer prevention. Those early in their medical training may understand the benefit of prevention but be more drawn to the heroism of curing the disease. On the other hand, those who are years into clinical practice face difficult challenges if they decide to transition the scope or focus of their work to cancer prevention. The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers that medical professionals face as they consider careers in cancer prevention and academic medicine. To identify such challenges, we interviewed full-time faculty at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center who had medical degrees and affiliations with departments in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences. We conducted structured individual interviews between July 2016 and October 2017 and used atlas.ti software to code and analyze recorded interviews. Quotations were collectively reviewed to identify preliminary themes that described common challenges to entering careers in cancer prevention. From 16 interviews, we identified several major challenges faced by those early in their careers and several faced by those who transitioned into cancer prevention later in their careers. Many physicians reflecting upon their views of cancer prevention during medical school said that they had misconceptions about the field and lacked adequate guidance to enter the field since it was so new at the time. The challenges faced by physicians who transitioned into cancer prevention later in their careers included funding difficulties, need for additional training, and the unique challenges of conducting research and achieving progress in cancer prevention. In spite of their career success as physician faculty in cancer prevention, participants described specific deterrents to choosing careers in academic cacer prevention both early and late in their careers. To have impact upon the burden of cancer, continued characterization is needed of the barriers and facilitators encountered by physicians at all career stages pursuing skill in academic cancer prevention.
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