Volume 65, Issue 6 pp. 710-718
Medical Imaging—Review Article

Medical imaging education opportunities for junior doctors and non-radiologist clinicians: A review

Sally L Ayesa

Corresponding Author

Sally L Ayesa

Imaging and Phenotyping Laboratory, Charles Perkins Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Gosford & Wyong Hospitals, Gosford, New South Wales, Australia

Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Correspondence

Dr Sally L. Ayesa, Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Gosford Hospital, Holden St., Gosford 2250, NSW, Australia.

Email: [email protected]

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Annette G Katelaris

Annette G Katelaris

Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of NSW, New South Wales, Australia

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Patrick C Brennan

Patrick C Brennan

School of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Stuart M Grieve

Stuart M Grieve

Imaging and Phenotyping Laboratory, Charles Perkins Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

School of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Department of Radiology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia

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First published: 28 June 2021
Citations: 4
SL Ayesa MBBS, MSc, FRANZCR, FAANMS; AG Katelaris MBBS, MPH, FRACGP; PC Brennan PhD; SM Grieve BSc, MBBS, DPhil(Oxon), FRANZCR.
Conflict of interest: SMG acknowledges the support of the Parker-Hughes Bequest, the New South Wales Office of Health and Medical Research and the Frecker Family.
The authors have affiliations with these organisations and programs: Radiopaedia.org (SLA), The Professional Medical Education Unit of the Sydney University Medical School (SLA, AGK, SMG), DetectED-X (PCB, SMG).

Abstract

Medical imaging plays a critical role in clinical decision-making across disciplines, and as such, there is frequent need for non-radiologist clinicians to interact with medical imaging. This review examines the literature about the delivery of medical imaging education to non-radiologist clinicians, spanning junior doctors, advanced trainees and specialists. Knowledge of medical imaging among non-radiologist clinicians is paramount to the quality of patient care, with calls for formal implementation of radiology education into non-imaging specialty training programmes. Overall, there is a demand across non-imaging disciplines for greater formalised medical imaging education. Concerns are raised that too great a reliance on informal methods of teaching radiology, for example in ward settings, results in greater variation in the quality and volume of educational opportunities and risks the perpetuation of erroneous attitudes and practices. The evolution of the medical imaging workplace and increasing utilisation of remote reporting has distanced the collaborative relationship between radiologists and their non-imaging colleagues, diminishing opportunities for ad hoc learning and engagement in larger formalised educational collaborations. Ideally, radiologists should be directly involved in the development and delivery of medical imaging education to post-graduate doctors to not only benefit patient care but also foster inter-specialty relationships and respect. Evidence supports the value of structured radiological teaching opportunities, including tutorials, lectures and electronic resources, in improving medical imaging skills among non-radiologist clinicians. There is wide scope for growth in the e-learning arena to address this demand for quality and accessible imaging education for our non-radiology colleagues.

Data availability

Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

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