R. W. Bailer1, R. Martin1 1University Of Louisville,School Of Medicine,Louisville, KY, USA
Introduction: Diagnostic radiology is an important competency that spans multiple medical specialties, and imaging is a necessary tool to evaluate patients in coordination with physical exam. However, it is often overlooked during medical education, so it is important to incorporate clinically relevant diagnostic radiology into clerkships during medical students’ third and fourth years. The purpose of this study is to understand how diagnostic radiology is being taught, what barriers exist to increasing diagnostic radiology education, and possible solutions to those barriers.
Methods: Data was gathered from four different sources: a comprehensive review of the literature on diagnostic radiology education during undergraduate medical education, the published AAMC Curriculum Data on radiology, a survey of clerkship directors at the University of Louisville in the departments of Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, Neurology, OB/GYN, and Surgery, and the same survey sent to clerkship directors of the same specialties at other public medical institutions.
Results: Literature revealed that students and faculty see value in diagnostic radiology education, but obstacles such as time in curriculum and cost make it difficult to implement changes. However, there have been innovative education initiatives implemented at some institutions such as vertical curricular integration, online modules, flipped classroom exercises, and externships. The AAMC Curriculum data revealed that few institutions require a radiology clerkship, and less priority is placed on radiology compared to other competencies. Responses to the institutional surveys reinforced the idea that diagnostic radiology is a low priority competency during students’ clerkships, even though clerkship directors value diagnostic radiology as a skill within the specialty. There are few dedicated instruction and evaluation methods being used currently, and overall, the directors have low confidence in students' competency upon completion of the clerkship.
Conclusion: There is room for improvement in diagnostic radiology education during undergraduate medical education, but several barriers exist to successfully implementing change. The future of effective diagnostic radiology education will be vertical integration into preclinical medical education as well as integration into core, required clinical clerkships.