Do Dictation Privileges Add Value to Radiology Electives If Medical Students Have Access to Online Modules?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Radiology Training
• Online Learning Technologies

Background:

• Traditional radiology electives are often observational, limiting hands-on experience.
• The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of online radiology electives in North America.
• Few studies have evaluated mixed online and in-person radiology electives that include dictation privileges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a mixed online and in-person radiology elective.
• To assess medical student learning and engagement in a novel elective format.
• To determine the impact of dictation privileges on student performance.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of pre- and post-test data from the online component of a radiology elective.
• Review of qualitative student feedback on engagement and learning.
• Statistical analysis using generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) to compare test score improvements.
• Accounting for individual variations and the potential benefit of dictation.

Main Results:

• Significant improvement in student scores on post-section tests (15.9%, P < 0.001) and the final post-elective test (28.1%, P < 0.001).
• No significant effect of the total number of dictated studies on final test performance (P = 0.317).
• Qualitative feedback indicated positive student engagement.

Conclusions:

• Mixed online/in-person radiology electives are effective for senior medical student engagement.
• Resources should support the development of blended learning models in radiology.
• Further research is needed to understand student dictation benefits and barriers.