Nearly 20% of medical students say they are not familiar with American College of Radiology imaging guidelines. But completing a short lecture series about appropriate utilization increased their confidence in choosing proper modalities for various clinical scenarios, according to new research.
The lectures helped familiarize these students with the ACR Appropriateness Criteria (AC), which was introduced in 1993 and still serves as a resource for providers when selecting imaging exams. Ordering the wrong exam can have clinical implications and also heavily contributes to wasteful healthcare spending
“Nonadherence to these guidelines and lack of awareness are still significant concerns," Salman Islam, MD, with the Department of Radiology at the University of Chicago, and co-authors wrote in Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology. "There is still a low rate of incorporation of the ACR AC into clinical practice, and this may be due to a lack of formal training across all phases of medical education."
The experts hypothesized that a simple lecture series to familiarize medical students with imaging modalities and the ACR AC could help them better choose the most appropriate imaging exams for their patients. They created a curriculum with two PowerPoint presentations that were shown to fourth year medical students. The students were tested before and after the lectures.
After completing the curriculum, students' assessment scores increased significantly, as did their confidence level for choosing appropriate modalities and imaging exams.
During follow-up surveys, more than 97% of students said the lectures were "extremely effective" at teaching the ACR guidelines, while 98% reported feeling satisfied with the curriculum.
“Our two part didactic curriculum is an effective method of teaching fundamentals of imaging selection and the ACR AC to medical students," the doctors added. "Our curriculum is very short, easily implementable, and demonstrates strong efficacy and student support.
You can view the detailed research in Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology.
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.