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Hey everyone, I found a pretty interesting article about medical student education in interventional radiology. It basically states that there is a projected shortage of IR physicians in North America and that one problem is a lack of exposure since there are IR rotations tend to be very limited if theyre even offered. The authors also cite a lack of IR role models for medical students and (apparently) the perception of radiologists being antisocial as contributing factors to the lack of interest.
Another point brought up in the article is that image-guided techniques in other specialties (such as cardiology and vascular surgery) may confuse some medical students with regard to which fields offer the best opportunities in training for and performing these procedures. The study conducted in the article surveyed 729 students from 21 states and found that only 5.5% of students had participated in an IR rotation even though 58% were interested in a hands-on or procedural career. The survey results also illustrated that most respondents were unable to answer many basic questions about procedures performed by interventional radiologists, which suggests large misconceptions about the field. Other surveys of European, American, and Canadian medical students show similar results: a large proportion of students dont associate radiologists with the performance of interventional procedures.
As youve already probably figured out, these findings suggest that the field would benefit greatly from a structured experience during clinical education akin to many surgical subspecialties like ENT, ophthalmology, and urology. The results demonstrating a relative lack of interest in IR are especially concerning not only because of the predicted shortage of IR physicians in the near future, but also because of a future referral base that has limited knowledge of what kind of procedures an IR physician is trained to do. Its also important to note that the study design had a potentially large bias due to the fact that responses were voluntary, which may mean that the results may be skewed based on a higher proportion of respondents already interested in radiology.
Heres the article. You can easily find it on PubMed:
Nissim L, Krupinski E, Hunter T, Taljanovic M. Exposure to, understanding of, and interest in interventional radiology in American medical students. Acad Radiol 2013; 4: 493-499.
Another point brought up in the article is that image-guided techniques in other specialties (such as cardiology and vascular surgery) may confuse some medical students with regard to which fields offer the best opportunities in training for and performing these procedures. The study conducted in the article surveyed 729 students from 21 states and found that only 5.5% of students had participated in an IR rotation even though 58% were interested in a hands-on or procedural career. The survey results also illustrated that most respondents were unable to answer many basic questions about procedures performed by interventional radiologists, which suggests large misconceptions about the field. Other surveys of European, American, and Canadian medical students show similar results: a large proportion of students dont associate radiologists with the performance of interventional procedures.
As youve already probably figured out, these findings suggest that the field would benefit greatly from a structured experience during clinical education akin to many surgical subspecialties like ENT, ophthalmology, and urology. The results demonstrating a relative lack of interest in IR are especially concerning not only because of the predicted shortage of IR physicians in the near future, but also because of a future referral base that has limited knowledge of what kind of procedures an IR physician is trained to do. Its also important to note that the study design had a potentially large bias due to the fact that responses were voluntary, which may mean that the results may be skewed based on a higher proportion of respondents already interested in radiology.
Heres the article. You can easily find it on PubMed:
Nissim L, Krupinski E, Hunter T, Taljanovic M. Exposure to, understanding of, and interest in interventional radiology in American medical students. Acad Radiol 2013; 4: 493-499.
