Florida’s healthcare workforce is projected to be nearly 60,000 workers short by 2035, according to a 2021 Florida Hospital Association analysis. To combat this, the state has started to invest more in education programs, like healthcare certificate programs.
Santa Fe College introduced a Radiation Therapy Specialist Program earlier this month. It’s a hands-on program relating to cancer treatment and oncology care.
The program will welcome its first students this Fall. Eligible students will have already completed an associate’s degree in either nuclear medicine technology or radiography.
The certificate enables graduates to look for employment in hospitals, cancer treatment centers and specialized oncology clinics, according to the program overview.
The program hopes to fill a local and national need as vacancy rates continue to increase in the field, said Matthew Allen, the department chair of Allied Health programs at Santa Fe College.
A study by the Radiological Society of North America found the vacancy rate of radiology technicians more than doubled between 2021 and 2024.
Santa Fe’s program hopes to help fill that gap, Allen said, especially in cancer care.
“Most people know somebody that’s been impacted by cancer,” Allen said. “I feel like it hits that personal piece with most people as well.”
Another factor of the increased demand is the growth of advanced medical imaging, said Dr. John Arrington, a radiologist at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.
Radiologic technology has gotten faster and more involved, so more patients can undergo scans and learn more from them. However, there aren’t enough qualified radiologists to decipher them.
“It’s really just a numbers game.” Arrington said. “There’s just simply not enough radiologists.”
Expanding the number of radiology programs and residency programs after medical school would help, he said.
There aren’t any specialization programs in Gainesville or surrounding areas that are available to Santa Fe College students, Allen said. The program will open more career opportunities for the students and serve the community at the same time.
Four radiation therapists at UF Health will teach the program.
Mike Springborn, a radiation therapist at UF Shands, said five people at his facility alone have retired, and the facility has struggled to fill those spots.
The field needs radiologists now more than ever, which is different from previous years of waiting periods and hoping for a job, Springborn said.
He said he hopes the program will encourage students to stay in the area and work locally in Gainesville to address the ongoing need.
Mallory Southwell, a radiation therapist at UF Shands, said radiation therapy allows more time with the patient than other fields, like nuclear medicine.
“You get to know your patients over six weeks and develop relationships,” she said. ”You get to be there for them during the process … and give them their best experience.”
The field remains largely unknown, Connie Gladden, a UF Health radiation therapist, said. Gladden attended Santa Fe College and didn’t know about the program until the college’s radiology director advised her to try the field.
The professors said they’re looking forward to the Fall, when they’ll host students in their own clinical sites for hands-on learning.
Registration for the program will remain open until July 1.
Contact Tess Lippincott at tlippincott@alligator.org. Follow her on X @tesslippincott.
Tess Lippincott is a third-year journalism major, spanish minor, and meteorology and climatology certificate student. This is Tess' first semester at the Alligator and first time on the university desk. She also works as a deputy editor for WUFT-FM. In her free time, Tess loves playing pickleball, running, and reading. If she's not working you can find her with her roommates and friends.
