The waiting game.

This crowd-sourced survey of early career (graduating residency between 2016-2021) female radiation oncologist examines how an arduous and inflexible board certification process can shape family planning practices. First of all, who cares about the timeline to board certification, anyway? Beyond the obvious mental health perks of being on the other side of it, the majority of respondents endorsed board certification as a prerequisite to achieving promotion / partnership, increasing annual compensation, and committing to non-clinical professional activities. To no surprise given these stakes, well over half (57%) of these classic overachieving rad oncs reported delaying or attempting to time pregnancies / adoptions around the ABR’s schedule of once-yearly examinations. Nearly one-third (25/79) of respondents attempting pregnancy reported infertility, which was significantly more likely among those intentionally delaying pregnancy to accommodate the ABR schedule (46% versus 18%). And we wonder why female physicians, of all people, have such dire maternal-fetal outcomes. | Dover, Pract Radiat Oncol 2021