Flexible work arrangements and their impact on women in radiology: RSNA 2021 panel discussion summary sponsored by AAWR and more.

There is an ongoing trend in the direction of flexible work arrangements in which employees can decide where and when to work. Multiple studies have demonstrated a significant decrease in associated job-related stress, improved job satisfaction, job autonomy, and collaboration when flexible work arrangements exist. However, some have reported increased workload and home spillover to work.1 The American Association for Women in Radiology (AAWR) convened a panel of radiologist presenters with diverse backgrounds who shared their own experiences with flexible work arrangements at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2021 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting. This manuscript summarizes the discussion and reviews various aspects of workplace flexibility. The RSNA 2021 AAWR-sponsored panel on workplace flexibility reviewed the current state of different work arrangements available for radiologists and addressed future strategies for implementing workplace flexibility. The panelists addressed the imperatives and key factors for the availability of diverse opportunities and ways to foster future opportunities. Matters discussed included differences in the availability of flexible work arrangements in the healthcare system compared to other industries, normalizing flexible work arrangements at the organization level, underutilization of currently available flexible work arrangements, part-time positions and stigma associated with them, thriving in a part-time capacity, workplace flexibility options for radiology residents and fellows and successfully implementing workplace flexibility at institutions. The panel ended with a call to action to develop toolkits with effective resources to support implementing flexible workplace opportunities.

Adapting to the new radiology landscape: challenges and solutions discussed at the 2014 AMCLC open-microphone sessions.

Every year, multiple open-microphone sessions are hosted at the ACR AMCLC. These sessions allow members of the College to offer opinions, experiences, and questions regarding challenges facing radiologists and the future of the profession. At the 2014 AMCLC, 3 such sessions focused, respectively, on radiology's workforce, the obstacles slowing the shift from volume to value, and alternative reimbursement models and the shifting physician employment landscape. These open-microphone sessions framed contemporary obstacles and emerging challenges that professional radiology societies, such as the ACR, should target with new initiatives and use of resources; in addition, the sessions revealed opportunities for members, councilors, and state chapters to respond with meaningful resolutions and policy proposals.

Driving change: taking ownership of our profession and its future.

The open-microphone sessions at the AMCLC provide a forum for the ACR's membership to be heard. The topics in 2013 included a review of the annual radiology workforce survey, the impact of teleradiology services, and the rationale for the new Imaging 3.0 initiative. Comments from members at the 2013 AMCLC unequivocally illustrated a single overarching theme: anxiety-anxiety about the future of our practices and anxiety about our profession. In light of recent and anticipated changes in health care, radiologists, radiation oncologists, interventional radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and medical physicists-members of the ACR-must continue to establish a leadership role in the health care system and serve as a cornerstone for all patient-care delivery models. ACR commissions, networks, institutes, and initiatives will position us for smoother transitions in the persistently altering health care landscape and will ensure that we have the expertise and tools to serve as leaders in health care systems and advocates for our patients in current and future health care systems.