Salary and student loan debt for oncology social workers: Findings from the oncology social work competencies, opportunities, roles and expertise (CORE) survey

Purpose: To better understand the current salaries and student loan debt levels among oncology social workers (OSWs). Design: Cross-sectional study using online survey. Sample: OSWs across a variety of cancer care settings in the U.S. (n = 1055). Methods: Salary and debt were collected via single ordinal variables. Crosstabs and chi-square tests were used to examine whether salary and debt differ by demographic and work-related characteristics. Findings: Median OSW salaries ranged from $60,001 to $70,000. Three-fourths of OSWs reported having student loan debt. Younger and recently graduated OSWs and OSWs of color were more likely to have greater student loan debt than their counterparts. Conclusions: Relative low salary and debt burden have important implications for securing a current and future OSW workforce. Implications for Psychosocial Policy: Adequate reimbursement and loan repayment opportunities for frontline OSWs will better secure this workforce. Advocacy efforts to identify OSWs qualified for loan forgiveness programs are warranted.