After-hours coverage of various radiologic subspecialties and its impact on the fourth-year radiology residency...

The modification of the initial radiology board exam series has as a concerted aim the promotion of subspecialization. Yet, in practice, fellowship-trained radiologists may be assigned to off-hours work in other diagnostic areas. The purpose of this study is to chart the prevalence of after-hour work among the various subspecialties in radiology and to relate those findings to the pertinence of a fourth-year training curriculum devoted to only one imaging discipline.

A questionnaire was sent to members of Society of Chairs of Academic Radiology Departments and to directors of the 50 largest American private radiology practices requesting that they list after-hours coverage obligations of their various subspecialists.

Academic and private practice response rates were 40.8% (42 of 103) and 42% (21 of 50), respectively. In academic practice, 80% of neuroradiologists, 93% of interventional radiologists, and 84% of pediatric radiologists were not assigned after-hour coverage in other subspecialties. In private practice groups, only 24% of neuroradiologists, 48% of interventional radiologists, and 33% of pediatric radiologists were free of these duties. For other subspecialists, the likelihood of after-hours assignments to other disciplines was not so discrepant between academic and private practices.

Residents pursuing an academic career in neuroradiology, interventional radiology, or pediatric radiology could benefit from a full fourth-year experience in their area of subspecialty, whereas a more variegated curriculum would be more suitable for other specialists independent of practice type.