Opportunities for Excellence in Interventional Radiology Training: A Qualitative Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Radiology
• Interventional Radiology

Background:

• Interventional radiology (IR) residency training quality varies significantly nationwide.
• The IR training pathway necessitates defining optimal curricula for practice readiness.
• Current understanding of essential IR training components is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To qualitatively identify key training features for preparing IR physicians.
• To assess differences in perceived optimal training between academic and nonacademic practices.

Main Methods:

• Conducted semistructured interviews with 71 interventional radiology stakeholders across the US.
• Utilized a single researcher for consistent interviews and two independent coders for systematic theme analysis.
• Analyzed theme frequency and prevalence to identify facilitating features.

Main Results:

• Key features identified: longitudinal patient care, practice-building education, interspecialty collaboration, broad case mix, clinical decision-making, diagnostic radiology training, procedural skills, and graduated autonomy.
• Nonacademic IR physicians (72%) more frequently cited practice-building education as crucial compared to academic physicians (42%).
• Practice-building education showed higher frequency (2.2 vs. 0.7) and prevalence in nonacademic settings (P < .01).

Conclusions:

• Understanding perceived essential training features is vital for optimizing IR trainee preparation.
• Tailoring curricula to address specific needs, such as practice-building in nonacademic settings, enhances physician readiness.
• This research informs curriculum development for a smoother transition from training to independent IR practice.