Establishing a Platform for Interest and Education in Interventional Radiology Amongst Radiology Trainees

Over recent times, procedural Radiologists have begun to establish themselves as the distinct subspecialty of Interventional Radiology (IR). The Interventional Radiology Society of Australasia (IRSA) was established in 1982 to share collaborative ideas, encourage research, and promote education. IRSA developed a weekend registrar workshop attended by Radiology Registrars from Australia and New Zealand. In the 2018 event, we surveyed the Registrars to identify their interest in IR training before and after the workshop.

The event was held over a weekend and consisted of both lectures and hands-on workshops. A survey was handed to all 67 registrants of the workshop and there was a 55% response rate including 78% of females in attendance.

Before the workshop, trainees rated their interest in IR training at a mean of 3.7 out of 5. After the workshop, trainees rated their interest in IR training as an average of 4.4 out of 5 (p < 0.001). The difference in interest between males and females before the workshop (4.0 vs. 3.1) was significant (p = 0.003), however after the workshop (4.5 vs. 4.1) was not significant (p = 0.07). The change in interest from attending the workshop was significant between genders, p = 0.03 (male interest increased mean 0.5, female increased mean 1.0).

We show that a program of lectures and workshops designed to generate interest in IR leads to a significant increase in training interest, particularly amongst females. Other subspecialty groups should consider this type of intervention and promote ongoing education and inspiration.

Cross-sectional study, Level IV.