Calculating the costs of undergraduate medical education in radiology.

Abstract

The current stringent financial constraints mandate that radiology departments carefully assess the costs involved in undergraduate medical education. We performed a cost-accounting analysis of the radiology department's participation in an introductory clinical medicine course, which could serve as a methodologic model for realistic cost assessment of any new or existing course. Each day of the 5-week radiology portion of the second-year course consists of 1 hour of lecture and 5 hours of small-group discussions regarding chest, abdominal, and skeletal radiology; neuroradiology; and nuclear medicine. Marginal cost is defined as the additional real cost involved in creating or conducting a course. Opportunity costs represent alternative use of instructional resources. The marginal cost (additional real cost) of providing the course for the first time was $37,475. Subsequent offerings of the course will cost approximately $24,375. Resources expended for any instructional purpose must be weighed in terms of marginal and opportunity costs. It is mandatory that adequate cost analysis for undergraduate education in radiology be developed so that sound choices can be made regarding resource consumption.