All the consultants identified from the Royal College of Radiologists' database as having been appointed to a consultant post in the last 2 years were emailed inviting them to take part in a web-based survey.
The response rate was 60 % (32 of 53 consultants). Ninety-four per cent agreed or strongly agreed that training had equipped them for clinical work as a consultant, but only 44 % agreed or strongly agreed that training had equipped them to fulfil the management roles. Free text answers stressed the importance of management skills, getting involved with trial set-up and producing publications early in their career. Ninety-four per cent agreed or strongly agreed that they had adequate opportunity to develop skills in systemic therapy and radiotherapy planning, but only 56 % thought this was the case for intensity-modulated radiotherapy and image-guided radiotherapy. Although 87 % agreed or strongly agreed they had sufficient opportunity to develop teaching skills, this was only the case in 62 % with regard to research skills. They published a median number of three papers in peer-reviewed journals. Twenty-five per cent of respondents studied for research degrees; 69 % of consultants had undertaken out of programme experience and 50 % had acted up as a consultant and these were generally found to be valuable experiences. There was strong support for the FRCR examination.
Consultants appointed in the last 2 years are generally satisfied with their training. Training in intensity-modulated radiotherapy and image-guided radiotherapy should be improved and the advanced specialist training requires reviewing to better fit consultants for subspecialisation, management and research.