[Radiology as seen by medical students]

To determine the impact of exposing medical students to medical imaging during the first year of the second cycle of medical school (DCEM1) on their perception of this medical specialty and the acquisition of its basic concepts.

All students in the 2007-2008 graduation class entering into the first year of the second cycle of medical school were anonymously enrolled into this project that included pre-rotation and post-rotation questionnaires, theory classes followed by clinical rotations with clearly predetermined objectives.

A total of 108 students were enrolled, with 70% being females. The parents of the students had a medical or paramedical profession in 46.3% of cases. Before the rotation, 61.6% of students perceived a difference between a hospital-based practice and private practice. Fifty-two percent of students had a clear idea of their professional future prior to the rotation. Five students (4.7%) believed prior to the rotation that it might have an impact on their professional future, versus 63% after the rotation (P<0.0001). The students whose parents work in the medical or paramedical field do not have a better defined idea of their professional future; on the other hand, they have more interest for radiology (73.6% with high or very high interest versus 52.8%, P=0.03). After the rotation, there was a significant increase in the number of students with high or very high interest for radiology (77.8% versus 66.7%, P=0.023). A student noted that he would redirect his career to radiology. There was also a significant increase in the number of students perceiving a difference between a hospital-based practice and private practice (82.2% versus 61.6%, P=0.003). With regards to radiology knowledge before and after the rotation, there was a significant increase of mean scores (P<0.001). Eighty-eight percent of students were satisfied or very satisfied with the radiology rotation. Overall, the students believe that 70% of the objectives were achieved. The only criticism from the students was that the clinical instructors were overworked.

Early exposure of medical students to radiology increases their level of interest for the specialty and increases the perception of differences between a hospital-based practice and private practice. The overall knowledge of students about radiology was improved, but the workload of clinical instructors impaired the quality of the rotation.