It is well known that the learning styles of the millennial generation are a mismatch for the traditional lecture format embraced by many educators . Educators of millennials should focus less on developing content-rich lectures and more on facilitating active learning so that these learners become fully engaged. For many of us, these “digital natives” can be challenging given their reliance on technology, shorter attention spans, and desire for collaborative learning . In addition, the exponential growth in imaging over the past several decades has dramatically increased the quantity of information that must be mastered to effectively and efficiently practice radiology. Although covering content can more readily be accomplished through the traditional lecture or comprehensive online modules, radiological educators need to be more innovative and incorporate multimedia and team-based activities into the learning process so that active learning is maximized. Many training programs have already gone beyond the traditional lecture and hot seat conferences, and have integrated newer teaching tools and techniques into daily instruction. Examples of some such tools include audience response technology, “flipping” the classroom, reflective exercises, simulation, and team-based learning. However, in this era of population-based care, there continues to be a need to develop additional inter-professional experiences so that the next generation of radiologists will continue to add value to the healthcare system. In addition, as educators innovate and try new approaches in their teaching, it is critical that the effectiveness of these newer teaching methods be appropriately assessed. By fostering collaboration among educators, teaching innovations can be shared, assessed in multiple practice settings, and more promptly identified as effective means to teach both clinical radiology and noninterpretative skills. It is through collaboration and innovation that the greatest advances in radiological education will occur. The annual meeting at the Association of University Radiologists (AUR) and Academic Radiology serve as venues by which radiological educators can collaborate, share perspectives, and positively contribute to the field.
So as coeditors of this Education issue, we decided to innovate and have introduced a structured format to the dedicated Education issue of Academic Radiology . First, we reached out to the alliances in AUR and successfully received submissions from our diverse membership. All of these alliances, whether focused on medical students, residents, practicing radiologists, or technologists, share similar educational challenges and we hope that this edition will provide insight into innovative solutions for some common educational obstacles. We have added more content to share best practices in radiology education by expanding the perspectives section to highlight some of the key challenges that radiology educators face today, such as population-based care , picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) and the professional relationship , research ethics , design of outcomes studies , educational games , and challenges of the new integrated interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology (IR/DR) residency . We also added a “How-I-Do-It” section where authors share insight into how they teach a challenging topic, including noninterpretative skills such as root cause analysis , healthcare economics , radiological–pathologic correlation , and “brain-friendly” teaching . These manuscripts hopefully will lead others to think deeply about how to implement these approaches into their teaching and to possibly develop other ways to teach similar content more effectively. The new Teaching and Learning moment section comprises a reflective piece where an educator or learner reflects on an experience and proposes a potential solution to the challenge. In this issue, Klein and Neal provide an example centered on simulation, a novel tool that some educators have adopted, whereas others have yet to begin using this technology . We have included two review articles, both of which have links to more in-depth online components. In the first article, Nguyen et al outline an updated curriculum for cardiothoracic imaging to help programs prepare residents for the new core examination, whereas in the second Richardson shares how to automate academic tasks, and hence improve efficiency in practice .
With regard to the educational research papers, themes of collaboration and innovation continue to prevail. Several manuscripts focus on assessment of tools to teach key noninterpretative skills relevant to today’s healthcare landscape, with Lourenco employing novel assessment of an iPad app to teach healthcare economics and Miller sharing their success on teaching patient-centered care during radiology residency at two different institutions . As relevant today as in the past, Rosenkrantz reminds us of ethical practice in publication and journalism . In addition, Ha et al and Phelps et al focus on practical ways to incorporate ultrasound into residency training . Every educator wants to see the fruit of their efforts whether this is recognition for their teaching of medical students or the end result of better patient outcomes downstream. Huete et al present a validated tool useful to identify “best teachers” and Cook reports on the current state of high-fidelity simulation in US residency programs . A more general assessment on the “flipped” classroom by O’Connor et al also provides insight how to incorporate this approach into teaching effectively . Finally, Rozenshtein et al share results of the recent Association of Program Directors in Radiology survey of program directors and Darras et al speak to the value of early exposure to radiology during internship as a predictor of enhanced performance during radiology residency .
Lastly, we look forward to receiving responses from the AUR membership to the “ 2016 Question of the Year .” As special education issue coeditors, we invite the AUR membership to respond to the following question:
“What do you see the greatest challenge facing radiology education today?”
Submissions for the Question of the Year should be uploaded through the journal editorial manager. The submission should not exceed 500 words, may have up to 5 references, and 1 table/figure. The deadline for submission is September 30, 2016. We intend to publish some of the responses we receive in the 2017 dedicated Education issue of Academic Radiology .
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