Starting in January 2011, the American College of Radiology (ACR) will offer month-long courses in radiologic-pathologic (rad-path) correlation, which have been presented for 60 years by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP).
The need for a complete change was a result of the US Department of Defense’s decision to close the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, where the AFIP has been located. Some uncertainty remains as to how and where the world-renowned collections of pathology will be relocated when Walter Reed facilities are closed in the spring of 2011. The radiology courses have been the largest element of AFIP instruction programs, requiring a separate auditorium and extensive facilities for offices and teaching collections. Because the American Board of Radiology requires candidates for diagnostic radiology certification to present some training in rad-path correlation, the AFIP courses have been used by residents in most American and numerous foreign training programs.
The last rad-path course at the AFIP was scheduled for 4 weeks beginning September 20, 2010. The first ACR-organized course will begin on January, 24, 2011, in an auditorium rented by the ACR in the suburb of Silver Spring, Maryland, just a couple of miles from the Walter Reed base. Many of the residency programs that send numerous residents to the AFIP have rented space in Silver Spring near the new teaching facility.
The ACR’s decision was announced in a May 17 letter from Harvey Neiman, ACR chief executive officer, to residency program directors: “It is well recognized that the radiologic-pathology correlation course is a vital part of training programs for radiology residents in North America and from around the world. Because of the importance that this course plays in the education of radiology residents, the ACR, with the support of the American Registry of Pathology (ARP), will continue to offer the courses.”
The ARP is the civilian organization representing the medical specialty societies that have sponsored training courses for their trainees and some practitioners. The radiology courses have been the largest group of courses in the past 40 years. The future of the ARP is uncertain until the Department of Defense agrees on a site for relocation of the AFIP, possibly at the military medical school near the naval medical center in Bethesda, Maryland.
Some of the details of the ACR’s takeover of the rad-path programs have not yet been worked out, according to Dr Neiman. All of the teaching materials are government materials, and the ACR has requested their transfer. The ACR plans to rent space to house the teaching materials and offices for the radiologists and staff members who will be retained to manage the radiology program. Arrangements for pathologists for some of the lectures are under discussion. The selected teaching center likely will be one of several movie theaters in Silver Spring. The ACR will provide specific details to residency programs, perhaps by the month this article is published.
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<