Abstract No. 456 Early exposure to interventional radiology in medical education

Abstract

The study’s aim is to implement a novel interventional radiology curriculum within the first-year medical student courses in order to increase knowledge and foster interest. The study design included three parts: an anonymous precourse survey, a dedicated Interventional radiology (IR) course, and an anonymous postcourse survey. The precourse survey evaluated the first-year medical student’s interest and knowledge in IR. The dedicated IR course was then incorporated into their preclinical courses and consisted of a hands-on learning session followed by a formal lecture on the subject. In the hands-on session students performed ultrasound-guided liver and kidney biopsies on anatomical donors and completed a case-based worksheet. Afterward, the students were given a postcourse survey consisting of the same questions as the precourse survey. Results were then analyzed to gauge the impact of the dedicated IR course in preclinical training. The presurvey was completed by 79 students while all 149 students completed the postsurvey. On the presurvey 78% of students knew what IR was. This number rose to 98% on the postsurvey. The average number of procedures students could explain in basic terms went from 1.5 before the curriculum to 3.0 afterward. Prior to the course, 5% would never consider an IR rotation, 19% said it is not very likely, 58% likely would and 18% very likely would. After the course, these numbers were 1%, 22%, 58%, and 19% respectively. The integration of a dedicated IR curriculum in preclinical courses increased the raw percentage of first-year medical students’ knowledge of and interest in IR. However, only a slight change in percentage of student interest in enrolling in an IR rotation was seen. This may not be considered surprising given how early these students are in their medical training. Given the anonymity of the surveys, the true statistical impact could not be calculated. Continued integration of a dedicated IR course in preclinical years with nonanonymous surveys is recommended, as well as follow-up studies to further evaluate the impact of these courses on rotation and residency choices.