The Integrated Clinical Year: A Unique Approach to Training Radiology Residents at the University of New Mexico

Abstract

In 1994, the American Board of Radiology (ABR) decided to require a clinical year in addition to the 4 years of diagnostic radiology residency. Before this, applicants had the option of choosing a program with or without an internship. The stimulus for this decision was a mandate from the federal government stating that postgraduate training not required for board certification would not be funded. For federal funding to be continued, the internship year would have to be required. The requirement was controversial because there were no objective data proving that a year of nonradiology clinical training produced a better radiologist (1). The radiology Residency Review Committee requirements were subsequently changed to reflect the clinical year and to state that it “must consist of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or equivalent accredited training in internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery or surgical specialties, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, family practice, emergency medicine, or any combination of these or an ACGME or equivalent accredited transitional year” (2). The requirement also indicates that “the clinical year should [italics added] be completed within the first 24 months of training.” The latter is not an absolute requirement; therefore, clinical training can be obtained in other years.