Web-based Radiology Subspecialty Training Program: Pilot Feasibility and Effectiveness Analysis on Ethiopian...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Radiology
• Distance Learning

Background:

• Subspecialty training in radiology is crucial for advanced diagnostics.
• Access to specialized radiology training programs can be limited in many regions.
• Web-based platforms offer a potential solution for remote and scalable education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a new web-based radiology subspecialty training program.
• To assess knowledge improvement in general radiologists undergoing remote subspecialty training.

Main Methods:

• Ten general radiologists participated in a 20-month remote training program.
• Training included online lectures, case reviews, modules, and an observership.
• Participants completed pre- and post-training assessments to measure knowledge gain.

Main Results:

• All four subspecialty programs (abdominal, neuroradiology, chest, musculoskeletal) showed significant knowledge improvement (p < 0.001).
• Overall knowledge score increased by an average of 18.4%.
• Score improvements were observed across all training stages, with no association with trainee age or years post-residency.

Conclusions:

• The developed web-based program effectively enhanced radiologists' knowledge in subspecialty areas.
• Web-based training is a feasible and effective method for radiology subspecialty education, especially for institutions with limited resources.
• This approach can help bridge the gap in specialized radiological expertise globally.