Rationale and Objectives
The Medical Student Radiology Triage Program (MSRTP) at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center recruits third- and fourth-year medical students to streamline imaging workflow for on-call radiology residents. We sought to evaluate the benefit of this program for improving medical student education.
Materials and Methods
Members of the program were surveyed anonymously from 2010 to 2012 using a web-based survey. The survey asked the students to rate the program in several categories from 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good). Students also indicated if they are learning any of the identified skills.
Results
Thirty of 54 (56%) former and current members responded to the survey. Support from on-call residents (mean rating 4.7) and interactions with residents (mean rating 4.7) were rated the highest of the categories. Students ranked training provided (4.2), interactions with technologists (4.2), and interactions with clinicians (4.1) the lowest. The medical training experience and overall experience were graded with means of 4.4 and 4.5, respectively. Ninety-six percent of students felt they acquired triaging skills, whereas 92% of students developed communication skills. Sixty-nine and sixty-two percent of students stated that they gained radiologic knowledge and general medical knowledge, respectively. Sixty-five and fifty percent of students developed imaging appropriateness criteria and image interpretation skills, respectively. The most popular reason for joining the program was for financial compensation (number of students = 12), followed by exposure to radiology ( n = 8), radiology education ( n = 8), and clinical exposure ( n = 7). Major strengths of the program included interactions with residents, learning experience, and triaging of workflow. Students listed the top two problems with the program as computed tomography technologists and clinicians not wanting to speak to them.
Conclusions
The MSRTP serves as a valuable clinical learning experience as well as being highly beneficial to resident workflows on call. Participants of MSRTP gain clinical skills that they will use during residency.
Similar to many other programs, medical students on their radiology elective at our institution are required to take evening call with the overnight resident on one or two occasions. This experience can be useful for the students, exposing them to a typical radiology resident’s work pattern and enabling them to see a greater range of emergency studies. It remains however a passive experience, when the students shadow the residents while they perform their duties. Students often wish to be more actively involved in patient and study management. Naeger et al. described the “radi-holiday” stereotype and advocated for increased responsibilities and expectations for students. Our residents, although willing and enthusiastic to teach, are often overwhelmed with the volume of incoming studies and must make this his or her priority.
In addition to interpreting studies, residents are constantly paged by technicians, clinicians, and sometimes patients. Answering these pages interrupts thought processes and delays workflow and teaching. For example, a clinician might page for the interpretation of a nonemergent computed tomography (CT) scan and wanted the resident to have a “quick look” over the phone. The resident would have to close the current study in midevaluation and then open the requested one.
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Table 1
Potential Benefits of Medical Student Radiology Triage Program
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Materials and methods
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Table 2
Medical Student Radiology Triage Program Member Responsibilities
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Results
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Table 3
Student Evaluations of the Program ( n = 30). Calculated Based on Likert Scale: (1) Very Poor; (2) Poor; (3) Fair; (4) Good; (5) Very Good
Category of Evaluation Average Rating Median Rating Support from on-call residents 4.7 5 Interactions with residents 4.7 5 Overall experience 4.5 5 Medical training experience 4.4 5 Training provided 4.2 4 Interactions with technologists 4.2 4 Interactions with clinicians 4.1 4
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Table 4
Skills Acquired by Students While Participating in the Program. Twenty-six Total Responders
Skill Learned Number of Responses [ n (%)] Triaging of tasks 25 (96) Communication skills 24 (92) Multitasking 22 (85) General radiologic knowledge 18 (69) Imaging appropriateness criteria 17 (65) General medical/surgical knowledge 16 (62) Time management skills 14 (54) Image interpretation skills 13 (50)
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Table 5
Student-reported Reasons for Joining Medical Student Radiology Triage Program. Number of Individual Free Text Responses
Reason for Joining the Program Number of Responses Financial compensation 12 Exposure to the field of radiology 8 Radiology education 8 Clinical exposure 7 Interest in radiology as a career 4 Interactions with radiologists 3 Experience answering a busy pager 3
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Discussion
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Conclusions
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
References
1. Naeger D.M., Phelps A., Kohi M., et. al.: Reading room electives: say goodbye to the “radi-holiday.”. J Am Coll Radiol 2013; 10: pp. 442-448.
2. Prezzia C., Vorona G., Greenspan R.: Fourth-year medical student opinions and basic knowledge regarding the field of radiology. Acad Radiol 2013; 20: pp. 272-283.
3. Saha A., Roland R.A., Hartman M.S., et. al.: Radiology medical student education: an outcome-based survey of PGY-1 residents. Acad Radiol 2013; 20: pp. 284-289.
4. Poot J.D., Hartman M.S., Daffner R.H.: Understanding the US medical school requirements and medical students’ attitudes about radiology rotations. Acad Radiol 2012; 19: pp. 369-373.
5. Gunderman R.B., Gasparis P.T., Rahman T.: Educating medical students about radiologists’ contributions to patient care. Acad Radiol 2012; 19: pp. 908-909.
6. Gunderman R.B., Hill D.V.: Students concerns and misconceptions about a career in radiology. Acad Radiol 2012; 19: pp. 366-368.
7. David D.J., Moon M., Kennedy S., et. al.: Introducing medical students to radiology as paid emergency department triage assistants. J Am Coll Radiol 2011; 8: pp. 710-715.
8. Dobre M.C., Maley J.: Medical student radiology externs: increasing exposure to radiology, improving education, and influencing career choices. J Am Coll Radiol 2012; 9: pp. 506-509.
9. Kennedy S., Knibutat D.B., DelBasso S.L., et. al.: The educational and career impact of using medical students for triaging off-hour diagnostic imaging requests at a major academic medical center. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2010; 194: pp. 1027-1033.