Radiology for anatomy educators: Success of an online, 2‐day course for radiology training

Abstract

Incorporation of radiology training into anatomy education from community college to health professional schools is becoming increasingly popular. However, anatomy educators generally lack training in common radiology modalities, including X‐ray, CT, MRI, and ultrasound. Professional development or continuing education courses provide current and new educators the chance to gain new skills within a short timeframe. Here, a 2‐day, online course for anatomy educators was created. The goals of which were for the participants: to gain basic knowledge of different radiology modalities, recognize normal radiographic images, and apply that information to common diseases or injuries in interactive case studies. Each day focused on different modalities, where Day 1 studied X‐ray, CT, and MRI; and Day 2 studied Ultrasound. A 10‐question pre‐ and post‐test was taken by attendees for each day of instruction on a voluntary basis. Following the completion of the course, attendees were provided a survey to determine their perceptions on course content and knowledge acquired. Most attendees instructed undergraduates at 4‐year universities, though several attendees came from community colleges and high schools. All attendees showed a significant improvement in knowledge from their pre‐ to post‐test scores in X‐ray, CT, MRI, and ultrasound following training. This was also reflected in their survey responses, where attendees felt the course was effective in increasing their knowledge and confidence in radiology. Overall, this study demonstrates the effectiveness of online continuing education courses and the need for more introductory radiology courses for anatomy educators.

Integration of radio diagnostic competencies with human anatomy in medical education

“…Medical education is being continuously upgraded, and several amendments are being introduced to improve the quality of education and training on the vital clinical skills that are the prerequisites for medical practitioners to be competent and successful in their service to mankind. Recently, we read a new article by Barger et al [1] describing the success of their online intervention to train the faculties of anatomy in radiological concepts such that they can facilitate students' learning effectively. The article has clearly emphasized the need for training the faculties of anatomy in radiodiagnosis and the future implications in medical education.…”