Impact of pre-radiology clinical years on resident performance

In 1971, the American Board of Radiology dropped the requirement for at least one pre-radiology clinical year (PRCY) of training. However, requiring a clinical year for radiology residents remains a controversial issue. We reviewed 896 rotation evaluation forms involving 62 residents to see if a difference in performance could be detected between residents who entered training without or with at least one PRCY. Forty-five residents had no previous clinical training, whereas 17 had one or more PRCYs. No significant differences were detected in resident performance between non-PRCY and PRCY residents, nor were differences found by sex, age, presence of non-medical postgraduate degrees, or scores on the first part of the National Board of Medical Examiners. No study of PRCY versus non-PRCY residents can be adequately controlled; thus the failure to show a difference in performance must be interpreted with caution.