Early Introduction of IR to Premedical and Medical Students: Initiatives at a Single U.S. Institution

Abstract

Editor: In 2012, the American Board of Medical Specialties approved the American Board of Radiology’s application for a dual primary certificate in interventional radiology (IR) and diagnostic radiology (DR) (1). This approval not only designated IR as the 37th primary certificate in the United States, but it also marked a milestone in recognizing that IR is a unique area of medicine that requires a distinct skill set for future trainees. The new primary certificate will result in many vascular and IR (VIR) fellowship positions being converted to integrated IR/DR residency positions. To facilitate recruitment into IR, it would be desirable if medical students could become familiar with IR earlier in their careers. Most U.S. medical school curricula provide minimal exposure to IR; only one third of medical schools offer a radiology clerkship, and most of these are offered as electives (2). Over the past several years, there has been great effort on the part of national societies and individual medical schools to promote medical student IR education. The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) has a dedicated medical student weekend, and several institutions have initiated local/regional IR symposiums, providing an introductory overview of the field and various interventions (3). At our institution’s medical school, similar endeavors have been undertaken; we have a well-established interest group, an elective in VIR offered during the clinical years, and a longitudinal clerkship (an outpatient office experience in which students participate in patient consultation, diagnosis, treatment planning, and longitudinal follow-up), and have recently completed the third iteration of a regional IR symposium. Here we discuss a single institution’s