title: A Qualitative Study of Medical Oncologists' Experiences of Their Profession and Workforce Sustainability.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Medical oncology is a steadily evolving field of medical practice and professional pathway for doctors, offering value, opportunity and challenge to those who chose this medical specialty. This study examines the experiences of a group of Australian medical oncologists, with an emphasis on their professional practice, career experiences, and existing and emerging challenges across career stages.
  
  
  METHODS
  In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 22 medical oncologists, including advanced trainees, early-career consultants and senior consultants, focusing on: professional values and experiences; career prospects and pathways; and, the nexus of the characteristics of the profession and delivery of care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following themes were emergent from the interviews: the need for professional reinvention and the pressure to perform; the importance, and often absence, of mentoring and feedback loops; the emotional labour of oncology; and, the impact of cascading workload volume on practice sustainability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Understanding professional experiences, career trajectories and challenges at the workforce level are crucial for understanding what drives the oncological care day-to-day. The results indicate that there are considerable potential tensions between the realities of professional, workforce demands and expectations for patient care. Such tensions have real and significant consequences on individual medical oncologists with respect to their futures, aspirations, satisfaction with work, caring practices, interactions with patients and potentially therapeutic outcomes.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Sciences, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Broom
authors.affiliation: School of Social Sciences, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: W K Tim
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: School of Social Sciences, UNSW Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kirby
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sibbritt
authors.affiliation: NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.|Nepean Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Deme
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Karikios
authors.affiliation: Royal Hobart Hospital, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
authors.forename: Rosemary
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harrup
authors.affiliation: Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.|University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Zarnie
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lwin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D002321:Career Choice; D003253:Consultants; D005260:Female; D006280:Health Workforce / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008495:Medical Oncology; D000072103:Oncologists / Q000523:psychology*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D036301:Qualitative Research; D016526:Workload