Recruiting Medical Students to Interventional Radiology: Current State of Affairs.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Radiology Training

Background:

• Interventional Radiology/Diagnostic Radiology (IR/DR) is a new primary specialty for medical school graduates.
• Early specialty decisions are required, but radiology rotations are often not core curriculum, disadvantaging students.
• Medical students need exposure to IR/DR to make informed career choices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and report strategies used by Integrated IR/DR programs to attract and introduce medical students to the specialty.
• To understand current medical student recruitment practices in IR/DR.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was developed to assess medical student engagement strategies.
• The questionnaire was electronically distributed to 51 Integrated IR/DR Program Directors.
• Responses were collected and collated by the Society of Interventional Radiology Resident Fellow Student Section.

Main Results:

• Eighteen programs responded, reporting diverse recruitment tactics.
• All programs encouraged applications to both DR and IR programs.
• Most programs offered research (94%), shadowing, IR interest groups, and workshops (78%).
• Other initiatives included informal faculty interaction, dedicated websites (67%), journal clubs (59%), mentorship, and social media outreach (50%).

Conclusions:

• Program directors are actively implementing strategies to recruit medical students into IR/DR.
• A variety of methods are employed, ranging from traditional research and shadowing to modern social media engagement.
• Understanding these strategies provides a roadmap for enhancing medical student recruitment in IR/DR.