Beyond business as usual: Radiology residency educational response to the COVID-2019 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted standard hospital operations and diagnostic radiology resident education at academic medical centers across the country. Deferment of elective surgeries and procedures coupled with a shift of resources toward increased inpatient clinical needs for the care of COVID-19 patients has resulted in substantially decreased imaging examinations at many institutions. Additionally, both infection control and risk mitigation measures have resulted in minimal on-site staffing of both trainees and staff radiologists at many institutions. As a result, residents have been placed in nonstandard learning environments, including working from home, engaging in a virtual curriculum, and participating in training sessions in preparation for potential reassignment to other patient care settings. Typically, for residents to gain the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to practice independently upon graduation, radiology training programs must provide an optimal balance between resident education and clinical obligations. We describe our experience adapting to the challenges in educational interruptions and clinical work reassignments of 41 interventional and diagnostic radiology residents at a large academic center. We highlight opportunities for collaboration and teamwork in creatively adjusting and planning for the short and long-term impact of the pandemic on resident education. This experience shows how the residency educational paradigm was shifted during a pandemic and can serve as a template to address future disruptions.

Impact of COVID-19 on radiology training: Royal College of Radiologists Junior Radiologists Forum national survey

“…With these lessons in mind, there is a potential role for a more centralised/national resource for teaching radiology registrars to minimise discrepancies in trainee education. 19 Local teaching could focus on the much desired return to face-to-face "hot-seat" teaching. It seems likely that a combination of face-to-face and remote teaching will continue in future and the fact that teaching quality was maintained through the first wave of the pandemic suggests that remote teaching can be delivered effectively.…”

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Radiology Resident Education: Where Do We Go From Here?

“…In many institutions, teaching rounds were canceled initially, but were shortly resumed in a virtual setting, taking advantage of platforms such as Zoom, Google Hangouts/Meet, Microsoft Teams, or Skype. 4 , 5 Recorded grand rounds from previous years, 1 participation in internal medicine rounds in preparation for redeployment, 6 and weekly or daily didactic radiology teaching rounds continued virtually. 4 , 7 , 8 One study that surveyed radiology residents showed the majority of residents were satisfied with the virtual delivery of teaching rounds.…”

“… 2 , 5 A number of virtual learning strategies were also employed including, gamification, 16 digital polling, 5 , 9 , 20 and case-based learning. 6 , 7 , 21 , 22 For the most part, residents prefer the in-person experience for teaching and learning. 23 A minority seem to prefer virtual learning.…”

“… 11 However without recordings, it may be difficult for some residents to participate due to clinical workload, time differences, and other commitments. 2 Regional and national conferences were largely hosted virtually, 5 , 6 , 20 , 26 , 27 with some cancellations. 10 , 21 Having conferences held virtually allows international attendees to participate more easily and keeping virtual options for conferences should be considered moving forward.…”

Resident Experiences With Virtual Radiology Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Didactic lectures and multidisciplinary conferences also have transitioned to a virtual platform. Software-based conference room solutions have allowed for these activities to continue in a virtual setting (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)7).…”