Medical student exposure to interventional radiology (IR) is crucial to the success of integrated IR residency programs, though current research indicates few institutions offer formal IR subinternship rotations, according to new research published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology.
“Medical students often have relatively little formal radiology education, and when clinical rotations are offered, they are frequently elective,” wrote lead author Daryl T. Goldman, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. “Prior research has demonstrated the importance of early structured exposure to both diagnostic radiology (DR) and IR and has also demonstrated the paucity of required core clerkships in diagnostic radiology.”
Goldman and colleagues added that before the recent creation of IR integrated residency, the opportunities for medical students to explore IR were limited to “brief experiences” as part of a DR rotation, or as an elective within a surgical clerkship.
The researchers sought to highlight the availability of medical student education in IR and propose a basic framework for clinical rotations.
The researchers reviewed the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) website to generate a list of accredited medical schools in the U.S. They evaluated school websites and course listings to search for the availability of IR and DR rotations. They also reviewed the curriculum of “well-established” IR rotations to identify and categorize course content.
The researchers found a total of 140 LCME-accredited medical schools which had course information available. They found:
- 71 percent of schools offered an IR rotation.
- 85 percent of IR rotations were only available to senior medical students.
- 2 percent of IR rotations were offered to preclinical students.
- 8 percent of courses were listed as subinternships.
- Well-established IR clerkships included a variety of clinical settings, including: preprocedural evaluation, experience performing procedures, post-procedure management and discharge planning.
“The authors believe that a well-rounded and successful IR rotation will expose students to the breadth of clinical IR,” Goldman et al. wrote. “Therefore, we propose that a strong IR clerkship should include a diverse mix of both the clinical and procedural aspects of IR, including IR clinic, inpatient consults, periprocedural patient management, and IR procedures.”
They added students should attend didactics and multidisciplinary conferences, participate in rounds and perform case presentations. This provides students with firsthand experience in “the broad range of IR clinical activities” they will partake in during residency and may also offer a better understanding the nuances of a career in IR.
“The continued expansion and advancement of IR begins with medical student education and recruitment, and it is crucial that medical school officials and IR departments are encouraged to integrate IR into all phases of medical education,” the authors concluded. “Medical student instruction is an investment in the future of radiology—this effort must be made a priority in the field.”
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.