Interventional radiologists and residents recently shared their thoughts about what aspects they feel are most important for an optimal IR training experience.
The takeaways from the interviews with 71 attending physicians, trainees and support staff were published recently in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. The interviews sought to reach beyond the current core competency requirements to gauge how IR training can better prepare residents for real-world practice.
“Rather than focus on the minimum requirements programs and trainees must meet, the current study aims to elucidate perceived optimal training practices, emphasizing modifiable training features that are considered vital for end-career success by relevant IR stakeholders in both academic and nonacademic practice settings,” the study’s corresponding author Lola Oladini, MD, with the division of vascular and interventional radiology at Stanford University, and colleagues wrote Feb. 28.
Interview participants included a total of 55 attending physicians, 10 senior trainees and six supporting staff. Respondents were queried on their own training experiences and what they perceive to be skills and behaviors that quality IR physicians and residents possess. Participants also shared what they would have changed about their training experiences and if there is anything specific they would modify about the current status quo for interventional education programs.
Several themes emerged during the interviews, but longitudinal patient care (pre- and post-procedural) was cited most frequently, with 81% of academic attending physicians and 79% of nonacademic attending physicians citing the matter. Practice-building education and its accompanying business aspects (billing, coding, etc.) were referenced more often by nonacademic IRs (70% versus 42%), as was exposure to interspecialty collaboration (86% vs. 58%).
Beyond that, other commonly acknowledged training program features were varied case mixes, clinical decision making, diagnostic radiology training, procedural skills and graduated autonomy.
“Although several of the [Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education] subcompetencies overlap with the proposed framework of perceived facilitating features, the proposed facilitating features may express practice expectations of IRs in more tangible terms,” the doctors wrote. “ACGME subcompetencies may benefit from inclusion of relevant practical applications referenced in the current framework to more clearly define trainee milestones.”
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She joined Innovate Healthcare in 2021 and has since put her unique expertise to use in her editorial role with Health Imaging.