Abstract
Introduction: Radiological assessment is an important skill to develop in general surgery training. Therefore, we aimed to determine general surgery residents’ points of view on receiving formal radiology didactics. Methods: We performed an anonymous survey of general surgery residents throughout the US. The survey queried the residents` postgraduate year, training program type, diagnostic radiology education in their training program, as well as the residents’ comfort level in interpreting various imaging modalities, followed by a series of images to assess the residents’ ability to interpret images showing various surgical disease processes. Results: A total of 365 residents responded to the survey. 76.6% of the respondent states that there is no structured didactic session in their program on radiological studies. However, 66.3% felt that interpretation of radiological images should be used to determine surgical competency and promotion to the next academic year. In terms of accurately reading images - 68.7% of the residents were able to read an x-ray showing cecal volvulus correctly, 51.9% were able to read a cholangiogram correctly, and 95.3% were correctly read an x-ray showing free under the diaphragm. Conclusion: Most residents favored having radiological assessments as part of the competency evaluation. Furthermore, a curriculum and inbuilt training structure that aims to ensure residents develop competent clinical image interpretation abilities may enhance the development and retention of such skills, ultimately influencing patient outcomes.
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