Medical student attitudes toward radiology. A multi-institutional survey.

A questionnaire was administered to 238 students at four institutions before and after a radiology clerkship to evaluate student attitudes regarding radiology as a career, radiologist expertise, and clerkship expectations. There was no statistically significant difference among the clerkships, although they varied in types of experience, geographic location, and size. After the clerkship, the students agreed more strongly that the radiologist should be involved in patient workup, screening of requests, interpretation of emergency room films, and consultations. A significant change in attitude could be identified after the four-week experience, indicating a desire for the radiologist to have a more active role as imaging consultant.

Anatomy instruction by radiologists.

Ninety-four academic radiology departments responded to a questionnaire concerning anatomy instruction by radiologists. Seventy-six departments reported that radiologists teach anatomy to medical students in courses sponsored by anatomy departments (63), radiology departments (7), or both (6). The most frequent format for teaching anatomy was classroom lectures alone (25) or a combination of classroom lectures and small group instruction (24). Eighty departments indicated that additional teaching aids would be helpful.

Radiology should be a required part of the medical school curriculum.

The interests of the future medical community and its patients would be better served if radiology were made a part of the core curriculum in all 4 years in all medical schools so that it would be impossible to obtain an M.D. degree in this country without a thorough grounding in this vital subject. Radiology should no longer be an elective part of the curriculum now that so much of the study and practice of medicine depends on familiarity with imaging studies.

On the importance of teaching undergraduate radiology.

Radiology is a teaching tool that should be utilized throughout the four years of training of medical students. There are, however, not enough radiologists in academic life to teach radiology and recruit students to the specialty.

On the evaluation of medical students in radiology.

What a medical student has learned in radiology needs to be evaluated, not only to appraise the student's mastery of the subject but to determine the efficiency of teaching methods. A two-phase written/oral test for all students completing the fourth-year elective is described.

More effective devices for teaching undergraduate radiology.

Two effective methods of teaching radiology to medical students are described. The Rotating Exhibit and Matching Displays methods allow students to master film facts by themselves and provide contact with the teaching radiologist for discussion of the film findings. Elements of participation, entertainment, variety, and discovery are features of these teaching techniques which supplement self-instructional methods.

Emergency room radiology: a format for instructing house staff.

Seminars covering the use of radiographic studies in the emergency room were given to the house staff. Greater efficiency in ordering indicated studies was achieved, and fewer repeat studies and unnecessary radiographic examinations were ordered. In addition, the radiologist and his staff became more aware of clinical problems in the emergency room. The authors feel that a series of seminars of this type can have a beneficial effect on general patient care.