Distribution of the head and neck surgical oncology workforce in the United States

Abhinav Talwar; Alex J Gordon; Arnaud F Bewley; Tanya Fancy; William M Lydiatt; Donald Weed; Michael G Moore; Babak Givi

doi:10.1002/hed.27157

Distribution of the head and neck surgical oncology workforce in the United States

Head Neck. 2022 Nov;44(11):2537-2544. doi: 10.1002/hed.27157. Epub 2022 Aug 9.

Authors

Abhinav Talwar¹, Alex J Gordon², Arnaud F Bewley³, Tanya Fancy⁴, William M Lydiatt⁵, Donald Weed⁶, Michael G Moore⁷, Babak Givi²

Affiliations

¹ Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
² Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, New York, USA.
³ Department of Otolaryngology, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California, USA.
⁴ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
⁵ Head and Neck Surgical Oncology, Methodist Estabrook Cancer Center, Nebraska Methodist Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
⁶ Department of Otolaryngology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida, USA.
⁷ Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

PMID: 35942943
DOI: 10.1002/hed.27157

Abstract

Background: The recent trends in education and geographic distribution of the head and neck surgery workforce have not been studied extensively.

Methods: We reviewed publicly available sources to locate all fellowship-trained head and neck surgeons and recent graduates. The number of surgeons in each state was compared against head and neck cancer incidence data from the Centers for Disease Control.

Results: The number of graduates increased annually by 1 per 100 000 000 people from 2011-2020. The average number of fellowship-trained surgeons per state was 10 (SD: 12). The average number of new head and neck cancer cases per surgeon was 247 (SD: 135). Ten states (20%) had cases >1 SD above the national average/surgeon, while 3 (6%) had cases >1 SD below the national average.

Conclusion: Head and neck surgeons are located in most states, but not uniformly. Most states have approximately average density of surgeons; however, several states are outliers.

Keywords: head and neck cancer; head and neck fellowship; head and neck surgeon; physician directory; workforce.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Head
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / epidemiology
Head and Neck Neoplasms* / surgery
Humans
Neck
Surgical Oncology*
United States
Workforce