Career and Professional Development for Young Oncologists

Being a medical oncologist in training or a young medical oncologist is challenging, regardless of the country where the training is done and the medical training background. Despite all the possibilities associated with a career in oncology, the number of available medical oncologists is still a preoccupation, as previously anticipated [1].

Knowledgeable of this fact, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has paved the way to support the career and professional development of this working force of medical oncologists <40 years of age by creating the ESMO Young Oncologists Committee (YOC). The YOC provides opportunities to strengthen young oncologists’ skills, knowledge, and expertise while offering a platform for networking with other medical oncologists and oncology professionals [2].

The YOC mission also includes monitoring and understanding the career challenges of early-stage oncologists and informing the decision bodies to act on these challenges by providing tools and support to overcome them. Besides ESMO and the YOC, other groups and societies work on providing activities and opportunities for young oncologists that help them improve their networking and career. In this article, we will outline key projects and activities designed to support young oncologists globally.

The Young Oncologist (YO) Track at the annual ESMO Congress includes educational lectures, interactive seminars, and dedicated sessions on career development for young oncology professionals. All YO sessions are aimed at providing space and time for an interactive discussion with peers and experts in the field and are open to all oncologists, regardless of their age. The YO Vesalius Talk, the YO Brunch Sessions, the YO Forum, and the YO Masterclass address relevant questions regarding career development and clinical and research practice in oncology. YO Clinical Case Discussions are round table meetings led by experts in the field and a YOC member coordinator discussing exciting cases. The YO Boxing Sessions present Pro/Con arguments on controversial topics within the medical oncology field. A senior expert typically presents sessions and a YO followed by an interactive discussion with the audience led by a YOC member.

Further activities primarily addressing career development issues include the YO Mentorship Sessions. Here, senior experts share their insights on various career paths, such as basic or translational research, incorporating these with clinical work as a clinician-scientist, private practice, industry, palliative care, or public policy. Complementing these, the YO Fellowship Session provides a forum where recipients of the ESMO Translational Research and Clinical Research Fellowships share their personal experiences of fellowships abroad, return to home institution (or not), and the impact that the fellowship had on their personal and professional development. Besides the YO track at the annual congress, the YOC is present during other ESMO congresses (e.g., ESMO Asia, ESMO Gynaecological Cancers Congress, ESMO Breast, ESMO Targeted Anticancer Therapies, etc.), providing YOs the possibility to network with their peers and key opinion leaders during the Vesalius talk and mentorship sessions.

To facilitate the participation of YOs in ESMO meetings, ESMO merit travel grants are offered to young members attending congresses to present their research. However, not all YOs have the opportunity to participate in such important meetings. With this in mind, the YOC, in collaboration with the ESMO Climate Change Task Force over the past 3 years, has been running the “Virtual Train to ESMO” before the annual ESMO Congress. This interactive program includes various online sessions addressing topics from clinical case discussions to practical “how to” and career development and mentorship sessions.

The Virtual Train to ESMO mirrors the model of the “Young Oncologists for Young Oncologists” (YO4YO) virtual sessions. These virtual events provide clinical, educational, and up-to-date research content, e.g., virtual molecular tumor boards, to the ESMO YO community worldwide at least once a month. You can find more about these sessions here: https://www.esmo.org/career-development/young-oncologists-corner/yo4yo-virtual-session-series.

The importance of mentoring within clinical and research settings is now widely acknowledged, especially at early career stages [3]. The ESMO Virtual Mentorship Programme is a yearly 1:1 mentorship program matching young oncologists with experienced mentors who will offer help and guidance for 12 months. Every year, there is an open call for competitive applications from all YO ESMO members. The applicant outlines their particular needs and is then matched with a mentor. Applications from YO’s lacking local mentorship options are prioritized, allowing participants from smaller institutions and/or low- and middle-income countries to benefit from 1:1 mentorship with experienced clinicians and researchers from all over the world. The mentorship program addresses various topics such as particular career paths, academic and research work, personal development, and work-life balance issues based on the mentee’s needs. Mentors and mentees interact virtually over 12 months and, where possible, during a face-to-face meeting during the annual ESMO Congress. This allows for a mentor-mentee relationship across borders and facilitates access for mentees across the globe.

To facilitate the exchange of knowledge and the widening of experience in clinical and translational research, ESMO offers both long- and short-term fellowships outside one’s primary country of work, which are aimed at YOs. ESMO Research Fellowships support high-quality clinical and translational research projects at European host institutions for 1–2 years. Additional opportunities include Clinical Unit Visits (8 weeks) supported by the ESMO Foundation – the International Cancer Foundation (ICF), Translational Research Unit Visits (up to 4 days), and dedicated Palliative Care Research and Observation Fellowships.

Educational activities aimed at YOs include various courses supporting the development of their clinical and research skills. ESMO Preceptorship and Advanced Courses are held as 2-day events, which deliver comprehensive knowledge on distinct tumor entities or defined topics such as immuno-oncology, molecular cancer biology, or palliative care. Successful applicants receive a travel grant to participate in face-to-face meetings. Examples of future ESMO preceptorship and advanced courses can be found in Table 1 and at https://www.esmo.org/meeting-calendar?page=1.

The Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop (MCCR) is a joint program of ESMO, the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), which includes lectures on clinical trial design, small group discussions, and clinical trial protocol development sessions. As part of this week-long residential meeting, participants develop their own competitive clinical trial protocol guided by an experienced expert panel. Applications for the 2023 workshop will open in December 2022. For details, please see https://event.eortc.org/mccr2021/.

Moreover, the ESMO Academy provides an overview of major oncology subjects and is generally designed as a preparatory course for the ESMO Examination. The ESMO Examination is a written examination held in different locations during the annual ESMO Congress, comprising 100 multiple-choice questions which cover a broad range of oncology topics. This examination is a valuable assessment tool for all practicing medical oncologists. It certifies that the individual has excellent knowledge of the field of medical oncology and is a great opportunity for medical oncologists in training to assess their understanding. Details on content and registration can be found at https://www.esmo.org/career-development/esmo-examination.

Last but not least, the ESMO Leaders Generation Programme is an integrative program over 2 years. It includes training in leadership and communication skills as well as an introduction to ESMO to understand its scope, goals, and structure of society. The program aims to attract ambitious ESMO YO members aged between 31 and 45 to provide the necessary skill set for taking over leadership positions within ESMO and other fields of oncology in the future. For details, please see https://www.esmo.org/career-development/leaders-generation-programme.

To better understand the national specificities affecting YOs and address their concerns and needs, the YOC also connects to national YO groups and provides advice and support to YOs looking to create national YO networks if those do not exist. The objective is to promote international collaboration between YOs and their national societies and to depict new ways to address the local and unified challenges faced by YOs in the early stages of their professional careers.

Together with the European School of Oncology (ESO), ESMO organizes an annual residential course on medical oncology for medical students. The course provides an interactive overview of a broad range of tumor entities as well as basic principles of cancer treatment to medical students in their third to the fifth year of medical school. This course attracts medical students interested in medical oncology at an early stage of their medical career before specialization. It aims to motivate excellent students to choose a career in medical oncology, fostering a sustainable medical oncology workforce. This is a precious and much-needed activity since, recently, it has been shown that medical oncology has been struggling to keep professionals motivated, with a significant percentage of them considering leaving the profession [4, 5].

Additionally, dedicated YO sessions for medical students and new physicians are offered at the annual ESMO Congress covering practical issues for students and trainees, such as preparing a poster presentation, followed by a YO-guided poster walk. Details on the contents and application process for the medical student’s course can be found at https://www.esmo.org/meetings/esmo-eso-courses-on-medical-oncology-for-medical-students.

Well-educated medical oncology professionals are crucial for optimal cancer care but face many challenges throughout their training and after finishing residency. The current career and professional development opportunities provided by the different societies are also intended to help overcome inequity in opportunities for YOs. This is a stepping stone to fostering the sustainability of the future medical oncology workforce. The different programs will help YOs successfully take their first career steps in this unique and highly innovative specialty.

We want to thank Francesca Longo and Katharine Fumasoli for their support in reviewing the article.

M.J.M. has received travel support from Pierre Fabre. T.A. reports personal honoraria from BMS, CeCaVa, Novartis, and Pierre Fabre; institutional financial support from iFIT, Neracare, Novartis, Sanofi, and SkylineDX; and institutional research grant from Novartis, outside the submitted work. C.C. reports personal honoraria for advisory board participation from Bayer, outside the submitted work. M.L. reports advisory role for Roche, Lilly, Novartis, Astrazeneca, Pfizer, Seagen, Gilead, MSD, and Exact Sciences; speaker honoraria from Roche, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Sandoz, Libbs, Daiichi Sankyo, and Takeda; travel grant from Gilead; research grant (to the Institution) from Gilead; all outside the submitted work. A.M. has declared consultancy to Veracyte and Roche (no financial or other compensation), outside the submitted work. C.O. has received research support from Roche and PharmaMar and speakers’ honoraria from Novartis, AstraZeneca, Ipsen, and Roche. He has seconded fellowship and clinical advisory role at Astex Pharmaceuticals, outside the submitted work. A.S.B. has received research support from Daiichi Sankyo and Roche; honoraria for lectures, consultation, or advisory board participation from Roche, Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Merck, and Daiichi Sankyo; as well as travel support from Roche, Amgen, and AbbVie. All other authors declare that they do not have conflicts of interest related to the present work.

Not applicable.

M.J.M., A.S.B., and T.A. conceived the work and wrote the first draft. All authors have critically revised the text and approved its final version.

Anna S. Berghoff and Teresa Amaral contributed equally to this work.