Abstract No. 466 Review of clinical integration in interventional radiology residency program block schedules

Abstract

Since interventional radiology (IR) residency programs were established in 2014, little is known about what constitutes an optimal Integrated IR residency curriculum. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the extent of clinical training in available IR residency program block schedules & to provide prospective IR trainees with an easily accessible resource for curriculum information. The websites of all 65 ACGME-accredited programs were investigated for available IR Residency block schedules from June 2017 to July 2017. Program block schedules with insufficient detail were excluded from the study. Personal correspondence was used to obtain block schedules that were not available online. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed. The rotation block schedules of 27 programs were obtained. 19 of 27 programs assessed had sufficient detail for analysis. We evaluated scheduled IR rotations & IR-related clinical rotations which included; ICU, Vascular Surgery, Hepatology, etc. The mean number of IR blocks during the first three years of training (PGY2-4) is 4. 63% of programs scheduled >4 IR blocks during PGY2-4. Six programs scheduled at least 1 IR-related clinical block during PGY2-4, while 13 programs (68%) scheduled zero IR-related clinical blocks during PGY2-4. During the more senior PGY5-6 years, the mean number of IR blocks is 20. The mean number of IR-related clinical blocks during PGY5-6 years is 3. Overall, the mean number of total IR blocks scheduled (PGY2-6) is 24. The mean total of IR-related clinical blocks (PGY2-6) is 4. Only 11 programs scheduled >4 IR-related clinical blocks. Required IR-related clinical electives varied between institutions. IR training is shifting toward increased emphasis on clinical training. From the minority of programs, which have made block schedules available to applicants, the data suggests wide variation in clinical experiences and many programs currently lack significant clinical rotations in PGY2-4. This data will help guide applicants in their decisions about programs. Future analysis should seek to determine whether the variation between IR program curricula has an effect on training.