It may not be the most popular career path for radiology newcomers, but offering residents the option of a clinician-educator track (CET) could help to solidify the future of radiology education, a team out of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta wrote in Academic Radiology this month.
“Exceptional clinical care, high-quality research and transformative teaching remain at the crux of academic medicine and academic radiology,” corresponding author Dexter Mendoza, MD, and colleagues wrote. “Underscoring the importance of dedicated and effective radiology educators, faculty CETs for promotion are increasingly being recognized in many academic institutions.”
Mendoza and his team piloted a CET for radiology students at Emory, which accompanied a pre-existing resident research track available for diagnostic radiology students. The CET curriculum mirrored that research track, the authors said, by anchoring itself in three goals—delivering “uncompromised” clinical radiology training, providing a structured opportunity to excel in medical and radiologic education and cultivating and developing proficiencies that will ultimately lead to successful careers in academic radiology.
“Our CET curriculum was developed to complement and supplement, not supplant, traditional radiology residency educational objectives,” Mendoza et al. wrote.
To apply for the program, Emory’s residents were required to submit a resume and application, as well as undergo an interview with the CET Committee. Then, over four years, residents are expected to complete all three components of the CET, including small group series, a teaching practicum and a Capstone Project.
That trifecta is aimed at providing students with the most structured and meaningful education possible, Mendoza and colleagues said. The small group series, an instructive forum designed to develop and build on teaching skills, helps students to become more comfortable in the education sphere through workshops, didactic lectures, small group discussions and skills sessions. The teaching practicum puts that knowledge to use in real-world scenarios—at Emory, CET residents typically design lessons for medical students, more junior radiology residents or advanced practice providers—and the final Capstone Project sums up the experience in the form of a published manuscript, lecture series or online module.
The authors said they recruited seven radiology residents in the CET’s inaugural year, but that number’s risen to 12, where they intend to cap capacity in the future. Up to three per residency year will be the standard, they wrote, to allow for the most valuable experience. The program also employs focused peer and faculty mentoring, which the team said has been invaluable to the success of the CET.
“Dedicated and effective educators play a critical role in ensuring the future of radiology,” Mendoza and co-authors said. “While we acknowledge that the establishment of a CET for residents requires considerable institutional resources with regard to both time and money, we believe that these resources are a prudent investment in cultivating future educators. We encourage others to establish a similar program in their institutions.”
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.