Evaluation of learning and exposure in the undergraduate interventional radiology curriculum (ELIXIR).
Clin Radiol 2023;
78:e773-e781. [PMID:
37550131 DOI:
10.1016/j.crad.2023.07.001]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 07/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
AIM
To gauge current final year medical students' exposure to interventional radiology (IR)and assess their perceptions of IR as a prospective career option.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
An online questionnaire comprising of questions that gauge final-year medical students' understanding of and exposure to IR based on the recommendations set out by the British Society of Interventional Radiology (BSIR), was sent out to final-year students across 34 UK medical schools.
RESULTS
Five hundred and ten responses were collected from 33 out of 34 eligible medical schools. Sixty-four per cent of respondents rated their own IR knowledge as inadequate. On average, only 50% of all subtopics proposed in the BSIR undergraduate curriculum was covered during medical school and 32.7% of respondents were not exposed to any fundamental IR principles and techniques recommended by the BSIR during medical school. Regarding careers, 2.7% of respondents reported a definite interest in pursuing a career in IR. Most respondents (89.8%) felt that there was insufficient undergraduate teaching on IR and that they lacked information to consider pursuing a career in IR (87.5%).
CONCLUSION
Insufficient exposure and teaching on IR throughout medical schools have led to a lack of awareness and consideration of IR as a future career choice amongst UK medical students. The re-evaluation of IR teaching in the medical school curricula is needed. In the long-term, such recommendations could provide the much-needed solution to the workforce shortages seen in IR.
Collapse