To Help Oncologists’ Burnout, Should Primary Care Take on More Burden?

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Resilience Task Force recently released recommendations intended to reduce burnout in oncology worldwide. One of the task force’s members, Konstantinos Kamposioras, MD, PhD, a consultant in medical oncology at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester in the United Kingdom, explains to Robert A. Figlin, MD, the Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology-Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer Center in Los Angeles, how those recommendations came to be and what institutions should do to help care for cancer care providers. They discuss differences between young oncologists and late-career specialists and consider solutions beyond those laid out in the ESMO guidance. “I’m wondering whether we have not done a good enough job having our primary care colleagues help us manage our cancer cases,” Dr. Figlin speculates.

Dr. Kamposioras reported no relevant financial relationships.

Dr. Figlin reported various financial relationships.