1,721,015 research outputs found
Determinants of Burnout and Well-Being in Women, Gender-Diverse Radiologists, and Radiologists of Other Underrepresented Minorities
No full textThere are many factors contributing to chronic stress at work, but one that most people do not think about is the stress related to being a woman, a person of an underrepresented minority group, or a gender-diverse or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) person. In radiology, all these groups are underrepresented, and being a minority in a field can lead to stress on the job because of macro- and microaggressions, discrimination, and unfavorable working conditions. So why should we be concerned about burnout in these populations? For one, these populations bring a diversity of ideas to radiology, and diversity of ideas leads to more innovative patient care and research. Having a diverse group of radiologists can only benefit radiology as a whole. Also, there are major physical and psychological consequences of burnout, such as depression, anxiety, premature aging, susceptibility to chronic medical conditions, and, worst of all, risk for suicide. We need to be aware of factors causing burnout in each of these groups, and we need to mitigate against them by fostering inclusion in radiology
Family and Medical Leave for Diagnostic Radiology, Interventional Radiology, and Radiation Oncology Residents in the United States: A Policy Opportunity
No full textFull author list omitted for brevity. For the full list of authors, see article.The American Board of Medical Specialties recently announced that effective July 1, 2021, member boards with training programs of 2 years or more must “establish requirements for candidates to become eligible for Initial Certification, including standards for training” and have “policies that accommodate reasonable leaves of absence from residency and fellowship training for personal or familial needs”. In preparation for this mandate, the American Board of Radiology (ABR) solicited comments from diverse stakeholders in March 2021—including the Association of Program Directors in Radiology, the Association of Program Directors in Interventional Radiology, and the ABR Initial Certification Advisory Committee for Radiation Oncology—with regards to Residency Service-Time Requirement, including considerations of family and medical leave. These communications included an initial proposed policy suggesting that “Programs may grant up to six weeks Parental, Caregiver and Medical Leave during the residency”. We appreciate the ABR's efforts to seek feedback as it develops an updated policy. The purpose of this piece is to promote transparent discourse and to examine the nuanced issues pertaining to family and medical leave considerations within the broader context of Residency Service-Time Requirement policies for diagnostic radiology (DR), interventional radiology (IR), and radiation oncology (RO) residents, with the shared goal of optimizing both the training of competent clinicians worthy of public trust as well as professional well-being and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Given the rationale provided below, we recommend that the ABR leave policy allow a resident who is in good standing to take 12 weeks of family and medical leave during residency (in addition to 4 weeks of vacation per year), to sit for the Core/Qualifying Examinations on time, and to graduate without extension of training, with additional leave to be considered by the program director on a case-by-case basis
Professionalism Training in the Post-COVID-19 Era
No full textIntroduction: Professionalism is one of the ACGME core competencies for radiology residency training. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way resident education and training occurs. The primary objective of this study was to perform a comprehensive systematic review of the literature pertaining to adapting professionalism training in radiology residency to the post-COVID-19 era education landscape.
Methods: We reviewed English-language medicine and health services literature for research that described professionalism training in radiology residency in the post-COVID-19 era radiology search terms and key words in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus/Elsevier. Relevant studies were identified with adherence to the guidelines set forth by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement.
Results: The search yielded a total 33 articles. We reviewed the citations and abstracts with the initial search yielding 22 articles (without duplicates). Of these, 10 were excluded based on the criteria set forth in the methods. The remaining unique 12 articles were included for qualitative synthesis.
Discussion: This article should provide radiology educators with the tool they need to effectively education and evaluate radiology residents on professionalism in the post-COVID-19 era
Disparities in Access to Multimodality Breast Imaging Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic brought into the spotlight significant preexisting disparities in care throughout medicine, including Radiology; they most adversely affect racial minorities, patients of lower socioeconomic status, and those with no or inadequate health insurance. The article by Nguyen et al., entitled “Addressing Disparities Related to Access of Multimodality Breast Imaging Services Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic” explores the disparities specific to access of breast imaging services due to the pandemic. Sixty percent of breast imaging services were delayed for all populations during the first 6 months of the pandemic, and it is projected that this will have a small negative impact on breast cancer mortality by 2030. This data is for overall populations but given some racial and ethnic minority populations (Blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans) already have increased mortality from breast cancer it can be assumed that this will only compound the difference. In addition, breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Hispanic women, but they had one of the lowest rebound screening mammography rates after the pandemic which is very concerning. This article is extremely important and should be used as a call to action for breast imaging departments to focus on addressing these now exacerbated disparities in these select populations
USMLE Step 3 Scores Have Value in Predicting ABR Core Examination Outcome and Performance: A Multi-institutional Study
No full textFull author list omitted for brevity. For the full list of authors, see article.RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: We analyzed multi-institutional data to determine if Step 3 performance tiers can identify radiology residents with increased risk of Core examination failure and submean performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected Step 3 scores (USMLE Step 3 or COMLEX Level 3) and American Board of Radiology (ABR) Core examination outcomes and scores for anonymized residents from 13 different Diagnostic Radiology residency programs taking the ABR Core examination between 2013 and 2019. Step 3 scores were converted to percentiles based on Z-score, with Core outcome and performance analyzed for Step 3 groups based on 50th percentile and based on quintiles. Core outcome was scored as fail when conditionally passed or failed. Core performance was measured by the percent of residents with scores below the mean. Differences between Step 3 groups for Core outcome and Core performance were statistically evaluated. RESULTS: Data were available for 342 residents. The Core examination failure rate for 121 residents with Step 3 scores < 50th percentile was 19.8% (fail relative risk=2.26), significantly higher than the 2.7% failure rate for the 221 other residents. Of 42 residents with Step 3 scores in the lowest quintile, the Core failure rate increased to 31.0% (fail relative risk=3.52). Core performance improved with higher Step 3 quintiles. CONCLUSION: Step 3 licensing scores have value in predicting radiology resident performance on the ABR Core examination, enabling residency programs to target higher risk residents for early assessment and intervention
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs in Radiology: Data-DrivenStrategies for Success, From the Special Series on DEI
No full textRadiology practices nationwide have implemented diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs seeking to change the landscape of a field traditionally dominated by White men. However, measuring these programs' success is often challenging, and a lack of documented success may threaten such programs' ongoing growth. This article explores the application of metrics and overall concepts from the business world to assess the success of DEI programs within radiology practices. Metrics and processes are described for each area, including demographic data for measuring diversity, compensation and leadership representation data for measuring equity, and survey-based data for measuring inclusion. A practical data-driven framework is presented that radiology practices may adapt to their DEI programs. This framework is centered on critical assessment of a practice's current shortcomings and creation of leadership accountability to track progress and effect real change. Through the spectrum of considerations highlighted in this article, DEI programs can have a large impact in driving measurable success for radiology practices and ultimately the specialty at large
Incidental genitourinary findings on obstetrics/gynecology ultrasound
No full textUltrasound is the standard-of-care imaging modality for initial imaging in obstetrics and gynecology. Given the close proximity of the genitourinary system to the uterus and adnexa, it is not surprising that these studies can result in the discovery of incidental genitourinary findings such as ureterocele, ectopic ureter, bladder mass, ureteral stones, cystitis, bladder diverticulum, and pelvic kidney. Recognition of the etiology of these findings is important for appropriate diagnosis and, at times, patient care. Many of these findings are truly incidental and clinically unimportant but other times can be related to the patient's chief complaint
Teaching Radiologists Who Perform Image Guided Interventions Effective Communication Skills Through Simulation
Full text linkThe purpose of this project is to teach radiologists who perform image guided interventions effective communication skills. Complaints related to communication errors between Radiologists and patients during interventional procedures are not uncommon. Communication for Radiologists performing IR procedures can be challenging since they are meeting the patient for the first time on the day of the procedure. Good communication skills are important to foster a good doctor/patient relationship, which can improve clinical outcomes and even decrease litigation.1 There is growing emphasis on communication skills/patient centered care in radiology.2 This is evident given the American College of Radiology's Imaging 3.0 initiative in which the radiologist went from being only involved in reading, dictating, and transcribing the imaging study to being involved in the entire imaging process from initial consult to conveying the results of the imaging study to the patient or clinician. Simulation has been used to allow doctors to practice their communication skills in a safe setting and get feedback on how to improve. Bell et al showed that using simulation with acting patients to teach communication and relations skills was found to be universally valued by all participants and was found to be preferred over simple observation.3 While this study was not focused on radiologists specifically, other studies have suggested that the radiologist can benefit from simulation based communication skills training.4 Additional training in the communication of abnormal results with patients has been shown to result in: greater professional satisfaction, decreased stress for the physician, and improved patient compliance. Allowing physicians to rehearse the actual communication skills through role play allowed for self-reflection which in turn improved physician communication skills.5 Training courses that allowed physicians to practice delivering bad news improved performance and, more importantly, altered attitudes and beliefs about the importance of communication. Effects of this type of training were shown to be evident for as long as 12 months post training.6 Accordingly, we decided the most effective way to train physicians who perform image guided interventions in effective communication skills was through simulation
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
- …
