Supporting underrepresented minority students and advancing educational and health equity: Travelers Summer Research Fellowship (TSRF) program radiology panel

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the racial disparities in health outcomes within our nation. This is especially relevant in the field of radiology where the lack of minority representation is particularly striking. The purpose of this paper is to describe a pipeline program designed to support underrepresented minority (URM) students and provide a model to bridge URMs to careers in medicine hence cultivating health equity. Methods We designed a radiology pipeline program within The Travelers Summer Research Fellowship Program (TSRF) to give underrepresented students an opportunity to engage with radiologists. Participants experience a rich inquiry-based curriculum and completed pre- and post-intervention surveys that measured motivational factors for medical education and interest level in medical careers. Results 29 undergraduate students participated in the 2021 TSRF Program. The data comparing the pre- and post-surveys demonstrated that the TSRF program played a positive role in sparking interest in radiology, debunking misperceptions about radiologists, and boosting participant confidence regarding medical school applications. Discussion We created an interactive curriculum for URM students to cultivate a new generation of radiologists that will reflect and better meet the needs of the populations they are serving thereby mitigating the current health disparities in our nation.

Grit, Gratitude, Grace, and Guidance: Moving Academic Medicine From Crisis to Transformation.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis within the United States, faculty in academic medicine have experienced serious workplace and personal challenges while also exploring unique solutions and innovations in response to these challenges. Despite the global pandemic, social inequality and unrest, and uncertainty about the future, 3 hopeful themes that bind faculty together have emerged: grit, gratitude, and grace. This commentary describes how these qualities are in fact a culmination of ongoing work within academic medicine. While there is still a long way to go, this work is paving a path forward that is leading faculty to have more control over their professional lives. Indeed, these faculty efforts can be enhanced through shared governance, in which faculty participate more fully in the decision making at their institutions. To create thoughtful and enduring solutions, institutional leadership need to collaborate with faculty and provide guidance focused on improving well-being among faculty. This commentary is a call to action that describes how working together through shared purpose and engagement can harness the power of crisis as a catalyst for change and transformation that leads to the betterment of not just faculty, but academic medicine overall.

Virtual Journal Club Beyond the Pandemic: An Enduring and Fluid Educational Forum.

OBJECTIVE: Since its inception, journal club has been a cornerstone to the life-long process of medical education. The virtual journal club (VJC), initiated as a robust solution to many educational challenges encountered during COVID-19 pandemic-related distance learning, provides an enduring and fluid forum for multilevel teaching and learning. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this manuscript we share our institutions' reasoning and methods to implement a VJC for multi-level learners. A standardized format applicable to all VJC sessions was adopted to ensure reproducibility from presenter to presenter. Sessions were held via video conference platforms. Pedagogy regularly emphasized in undergraduate medical education was adopted. Informal assessment of each session's strengths and areas for improvement was performed. RESULTS: A total of 30 sessions were held prior to manuscript submission, including discussion of 36 refereed journal articles from March 26, 2020, to April 20, 2021. The virtual journal club was very well received by all participants. The medical students and residents found the information current and engaging. The fellows stated that the journal club strengthened their knowledge base and enhanced communication and teaching skills. The attendings learned from its encouraged frank discussion of differing practice patterns. The format of these sessions offers an ideal setting to teach medical students and residents how to evaluate and employ evidence-based medicine and meets multiple LCME and ACGME requirements. CONCLUSIONS: This VJC forum allows for development of essential nonclinical skills including lifelong active learning and analysis, peer collaboration, and technology adaptation and usage.

Self-Care and Storytelling for Radiologists: A Feasibility Study.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Physician wellness and burnout mitigation strategies have become priority practices in recent years. Despite these efforts, however, physicians living with the psychological effects of the current COVID-19 global pandemic, political stressors, and social injustices, face ever increasing threats to their personal and professional well-being. This manuscript investigates the process of storytelling as a self-care practice for radiologists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The AUR Well Being Ad-Hoc Committee introduced and approved Storytelling Geek Week, a virtual workshop held by The Moth, a Peabody award-winning storytelling nonprofit group. Nineteen AUR members applied and were selected for participation in the workshop which occurred over 5 days in November 2020. Anonymous electronic surveys were sent to participants before and after the workshop to gather feedback on their experience. RESULTS: Of the 19 AUR member participants, 12 (63%) completed the pre-workshop survey and 8 (42%) completed the post-workshop survey. Participant current state of well-being was found to be increased between the pre- and post-course surveys, with a statistically significant adjusted P-value of 0.017. All 8 post-workshop respondents reported that they would recommend the workshop to others. With regard to how participation in the workshop impacted their wellbeing, representative free text responses include, "helped with processing emotions," and "felt more connected to strangers." Regarding shifts in perspective as a result of workshop participation, representative free text responses include, "more empathetic" and "started focusing on hope and gratitude rather than sadness and anxiety." CONCLUSION: Participants in a storytelling workshop reported a positive impact on their perceived sense of well-being. Respondents also reports shifts in their sense of empathy and connectedness to others. This type of intervention may help to mitigate burnout and build community during challenging times.

Medical student education in the time of COVID-19: A virtual solution to the introductory radiology elective.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical educators and students are facing unprecedented challenges while navigating the new virtual landscape that social-distancing policies mandate. In response to these challenges, a new virtual introduction to radiology elective was established with unique online resources and curriculum. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A previously in-person 2-week introductory radiology elective was converted into a completely virtual experience using an internally developed, open-source, peer-reviewed, web-based teaching modules combined with virtual lectures, interdisciplinary conferences, and readout sessions of de-identified cases loaded to a DICOM viewer. Students from the first four months of course enrollment completed a multiple choice pre- and post-course knowledge assessments and a 5-point Likert Scale survey as part of their educational experience. RESULTS: In total, 26 4th-year medical students participated over 4 separate 2-week sessions from July to October of 2020. This included 12 students from the home intuition and 14 visiting students. On average, students scored 62.2% on the 55-question pre-test and 89.0% on the same test upon completion of the course, a statistically significant increase (p < 0.001). All 26 students felt engaged throughout the course. All 26 agreed (23 "strongly agreed") that they were more comfortable looking at imaging studies following the course. All 26 also agreed (21 "strongly agreed") that the course helped them prepare for their future clinical rotations and careers. CONCLUSION: Initial pilot program using unique web-based resources and student encounters during a two-week virtual introductory radiology elective proved to be a positive educational experience for the first 26 students enrolled.