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Special Communication |
1 From the Radiological Society of North America, 820 Jorie Blvd, Oak Brook, IL 60523.
Index terms: Education • Radiology and radiologists • Special Communications
Since its establishment in 1984, the RSNA Research and Education Foundation has provided more than $12 million in research grants to nearly 400 of physician-scientists embarking on research careers in the radiologic sciences in North America and internationally. In 1998, the RSNA provided $10 million to the Foundation to establish educational grant programs. In 1999, the Foundation Program Committee met with outside experts to develop educational grant programs, including departmental grants, individual grants, unspecified projects (similar to National Institutes of Health R01 grants), and international grants. The group assigned to develop the departmental grants recommended that a consensus conference of academic leaders be held to identify the needs of academic radiology departments in order to develop a meaningful grant program.
"New Pathways for Educating Radiologists for the Future" was the title of a 2-day consensus conference held August 26–27, 2000, in Oak Brook, Illinois. At the August conference, approximately 70 participants invited from organizations in the radiologic sciences from the United States and Canada came together to identify future directions for radiology education. The conference, chaired by Vijay M. Rao, MD, focused on five major areas and was structured to provide keynote presentations and breakout group discussions devoted to each topic. The topic areas and speakers were as follows: Curriculum Development, Support, and Dissemination—Diagnostic Radiology, Jay Harolds, MD; Curriculum Development, Support, and Dissemination—Radiation Oncology, Martin Colman, MD; Development and Use of Electronic Teaching Materials, H. Ric Harnsberger, MD; Leadership Development for Radiology, Carl E. Ravin, MD; Alternative Pathways in Radiology Education, Stephen Chan, MD; Centers of Excellence in Education, Barry B. Goldberg, MD.
The participants were asked to consider the current state of education in the radiologic sciences, to envision the future of the profession, and to develop innovative recommendations to the Research and Education Foundation for changing and enhancing educational processes to meet the challenges that lie ahead. The discussions held over the 1
days of the conference were lively and thought provoking. Throughout the conference, participants were encouraged to explore ideas without the constraint of developing the details of delivering or financing the recommended programs. Not surprisingly, this approach resulted in a broad array of recommendations, including a number of issues that may be more effectively addressed in ways that do not lend themselves to a Foundation grant program. Twenty-four recommendations were produced for various program initiatives, 12 of which were designated as priorities by the conference participants and are outlined below.
Curriculum Development, Support, and Dissemination—Diagnostic Radiology
1. Curriculum model: A curriculum developed through partnerships with subspecialty societies should include goals, objectives, and the means for evaluating the objectives and learners. Partnerships with subspecialty societies would be formed to obtain input on all elements of the curriculum, including noninterpretive skills, and to create and maintain a Web database for education utilizing the curriculum. A task force on the future of radiologic training would be formed to evaluate the current status of radiologic education and projected needs and would make long-term recommendations.
2. Educator skills program: A program to develop expert educators at institutions throughout the world would be an ongoing multiple-part program. Included would be progressive and interactive workshops and short courses, as well as an educator’s track at the RSNA Scientific Assembly providing forums and papers specifically related to education in radiology.
Curriculum Development, Support, and Dissemination—Radiation Oncology
3. Midcareer leadership program: Academics in midcareer (defined as 4–8 years out of formal training or at a senior level, such as an early associate professor before tenure) could apply with their mentors to attend a 2- or 3-day retreat constituting a short course on midcareer leadership development. This would afford an opportunity not only to educate the student but also to establish and strengthen the relationship between the student and the mentor. In addition, individuals would be supported to take mini-sabbaticals of 3–6 months for additional training in specific areas.
4. Clinical trials educational program for residents: Complementing the career leadership program for faculty would be a program designed for residents, which would provide support to attend and participate in relevant clinical trial groups. Ten residents would be selected each year to receive support over the course of 3 years. The goal is to provide incentives for residents to become part of the research infrastructure and to increase rates of retention in academics.
Development and Use of Electronic Teaching Materials
5. Standardized coding system: With the transition to digital media, many departments are finding themselves in the midst of digital chaos as they accumulate huge stores of electronic data. Thousands of hours spent sorting images are now giving way to equal amounts of time searching for digitally produced images that have been duplicated, resorted, and inconsistently named and filed. To address these problems, a standardized system would be developed for electronic coding and nomenclature, including file formatting and naming.
6. Web-based search engine: Various data sources, including images and literature, from various approved and validated sites would be linked to a Web-based search engine. This search engine would be used by entering either a differential or a specific diagnosis, which would link the user to images, references, and other resources. The user would be able to access the search engine from a picture archiving and communication system, or PACS, as he or she is reading a case.
Leadership Development for Radiology
7. RSNA leadership school: Courses taught through a leadership school would be targeted to different career levels, including vice chairs, section heads, junior faculty, education leaders, and residents. Attendees would be nominated by department chairs, radiologic organizations, or colleagues in group practice or by self-nomination. The nomination would represent an honor or accolade for recipients deemed to have leadership qualities. Graduates would receive a certificate and would become part of a database of individuals considered to have leadership skills. Faculty would come from not only the radiology community but also other radiologic sciences, business or management schools, outcomes or health services researchers, or educators, among others.
8. Partnerships with graduate schools: The RSNA would issue a request for proposals to create partnerships with graduate business or management schools to offer advanced degrees (eg, MBA, MPH degrees) focusing on radiologic sciences or management of radiology departments.
Alternative Pathways in Radiology Education
9. Faculty education grant in academic radiology: A faculty education grant in academic radiology would be established to provide resources for education in alternative pathways. The grant would be department based, although not necessarily located solely in the department.
10. Program-project grant for developing an alternative education pathway (AEP) center: An AEP center grant would be established to support a department to globally improve its knowledge base and deliver needed skills to a faculty and resident group. An educationally targeted grant would provide an educational core for both faculty and residents. This grant could help to restructure resident training for the 21st century. The grant would have a minimum duration of 3–5 years and would be renewable pending a positive review process.
Centers of Excellence in Education
11. A Program to teach teachers to teach: Centers of development would be created to identify those who would be good teachers and teach them to teach. They would then return to their institutions to teach others. The program would provide pre-, post-, and delayed testing to assess the "durability" of learning, evaluate the quality of teaching, and provide rewards and incentives for exemplary teaching.
12. Virtual university: An interactive Web-based virtual university would be developed which would include pre-, post-, and delayed testing and would enable distance learning of uniform curriculum-based knowledge.
The proceedings from this conference are being distributed to program directors and academic department chairs in the radiologic sciences, as well as other interested individuals. All of the recommendations will be studied, and it will be the prerogative of the RSNA Board of Directors and various RSNA committees to review and develop appropriate programs. In the meantime, it should be understood that the recommendations contained in this report and the conference proceedings should not be construed as the policy of RSNA until such time as they have been considered by the RSNA Board of Directors. Copies of the conference proceedings are available by request to the RSNA Research and Education Foundation, and the full text can be found on RSNA Link (www.rsna.org).
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