Emerging strategic themes for guiding change in academic radiology departments

Academic radiologists are faced with increasing demands on their time and energy, particularly in the clinical arena, where larger examination volumes and higher service expectations are the norm for most medical centers. These demands are intensified by the continuing shortage of academic radiologists. If academic radiology departments continue to devote most of their resources to the clinical mission at the expense of research and educational missions, then there are potentially serious adverse consequences for long-term viability of the profession of radiology. This dilemma represents a critical strategic problem, not just for academic radiology but also for the entire profession of radiology. In this article, the success and growth of academic radiology during the 20th century are framed as the result of the dogged pursuit of certain key strategic themes. With the concept of paradigm shift, introduced by Kuhn, several new strategic themes are identified that are just emerging from changes in work practices, organizational structure, and mind-sets in radiology departments at academic medical centers. One benefit of this approach is that it facilitates the ability of radiologists to articulate and focus on those strategic themes that will help academic radiology departments to adapt more rapidly and successfully to environmental changes during the 21st century.