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

Traditional in-person medical student radiology electives are predominantly observerships. However, during the COVID-19 restrictions, many schools across Canada and the United States moved their radiology electives to an online format with great success. To the best of our knowledge, an evaluation of student experiences at a site where the 2-week on-site elective has both dictation privileges and an online component has not been completed.

We analyzed the pre- and post-test data from the online component of a radiology elective, retrieved the total number of dictation reports, and reviewed qualitative student feedback to gauge student engagement and learning. We used a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) to compare the difference between the student scores on pre- and postmodule section quizzes, accounting for individual and section-specific variation in performance. A second GLMM was fit to assess improvement in the cumulative test taken before and after the entire elective. Both models accounted for the potential benefit of dictation.

Student score improved significantly on the postsection tests (β_post = 15.9% ± 0.86% SE, P < 0.001) and on the final postelective test (β_post = 28.1% ± 1.8% SE, P < 0.001). The effect of total number of dictated studies on final test performance was not significant (β_post = 0.07% ± 0.07% SE, P = 0.317).

This retrospective study suggests that resources should be directed to the development of mixed online/in-person electives for ideal student engagement at the senior medical student level. Further work must be completed to understand the potential benefits of, and barriers to, student dictation at the medical student level.