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Program

WSU Medical School

Training Level

Medical Student

Institution

Wayne State University

Abstract

Introduction: Over the last several years, interventional radiologists have become increasingly recognized as part of a collaborative healthcare team. At the same time, interventional radiology (IR) is a field poorly represented in many medical school curricula. As IR management options are increasingly incorporated into the clinician’s arsenal, representation during medical education is critical. Several studies have demonstrated that interventional radiology interest group (IRIG) presentations and demonstrations increase knowledge and excitement about the specialty amongst medical students. However, current literature investigating the effect of these presentations on students interested in primary care specialties is lacking. Our study demonstrates that presenting cases specifically targeted toward students interested in primary care specialties increases their knowledge about the role of IR in their future practice.Methods: Case presentations were given to students who attended interest group meetings in family medicine, emergency medicine, pediatrics, and internal medicine. Presentations were developed specifically to consist of cases that are relevant to each interest group’s respective field. The majority of students were in their preclinical years and interested in a variety of non-radiology specialties. Surveys were administered prior to the presentation and following the presentation (7 questions each). All questions were answered on a Likert scale of 1-5 (1—disagree and 5—agree). Questions were centered around general knowledge of IR, the role of IR within their field, and the benefits of IR to their future practice. Descriptive statistics were calculated based on these results.Results: Responses from 81 participants to every question suggested an overall increase in the knowledge of the field of IR following the case presentation. The mean value to the question “I understand the role of IR in my specialty of interest” increased from 2.7 to 3.6 after the presentation. Students’ average response to the question, “I understand some IR procedures” increased 1.3 points on the scale.Conclusions: Medical students are generally not exposed to IR as a specialty despite its expanding role in clinical practice. Increasing medical student familiarity with IR is essential to producing physicians with a broad understanding of the management options at their disposal. Targeted case presentations given to pre-clinical and clerkship-level medical students interested in primary care specialties were effective in increasing understanding of the role of IR in their specialty of interest. Student-led presentations using interest groups as a networking platform are an effective method for forming first impressions and exposing future doctors to the applications of interventional radiology in their practice.

Presentation Date

5-2019

Introducing IR to Medical Students Interested in Primary Care Specialties

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