Radiology for medical students: Do we teach enough? A national study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Radiology Training
• Curriculum Development

Background:

• A previous study indicated an average of 4629 teaching hours for UK medical students over five years.
• Radiology is a valuable teaching resource, but allocated hours have not been quantified.
• There is a need to assess if current radiology education meets professional and upcoming assessment standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the hours dedicated to radiology teaching in Scottish medical schools.
• To evaluate if this teaching meets the requirements of other clinical disciplines.
• To assess preparedness for the General Medical Council Medical Licensing Assessment (GMC MLA).

Main Methods:

• Data on timetabled radiology teaching hours in Scottish universities were sourced from the Analysis of Teaching of Medical Schools (AToMS) survey.
• University Lead Clinician Teachers were surveyed regarding essential radiological investigations and skills for graduating medical students.
• This involved quantitative analysis of curriculum hours and qualitative feedback from educators.

Main Results:

• Scottish medical students receive only 59 hours (0.3%) of radiology teaching out of 19,325 total timetabled hours.
• Hospital-based radiology teaching varied significantly, ranging from 0 to 31 hours.
• Nearly half of surveyed Clinician Teachers (15/31) believe radiology teaching is insufficient, and identified key skills not covered by the GMC MLA.

Conclusions:

• Current radiology teaching hours in Scottish medical schools are inadequate.
• The allocated time falls short of expectations from clinical educators and the GMC.
• Urgent collaboration between universities and the NHS is needed to enhance radiology education for better clinical preparedness and GMC MLA success.