Progress and Impact of a Radiology Residency Research Track over 12 Years

Radiology is a dynamic and ever-evolving field, necessitating research and innovation. However, the conventional medical training model falls short in fostering research skills, crucial for cultivating the upcoming cohort of physician-scientists. Our radiology residency research track (RT) was instituted to offer a dedicated research pathway, to foster the next generation of research-focused academic radiologists. The track provides an integrated 4-year longitudinal curriculum and academic time. This study assessed the impact and progress of our RT over 12 years.

Using publicly available online data from Doximity, PubMed, and Scopus we collected information on all graduates from our Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology residency program graduation classes between 2010 and 2022, including most recent job position, position type (academic vs. private), and publications. We compared RT and non-research track (NRT) residents.

Out of 185 graduates, 179 profiles (97%) were retrievable, including all 13 RT residents. The average number of publications per resident during residency was 1.1 (186 total) for NRT graduates and 7.2 (93 total) for RT graduates (p < 0.001). Throughout their entire careers to date, NRT graduates averaged 7.3 publications per resident (1249 total), while RT graduates averaged 31.7 publications per resident (412 total) (p < 0.001). The average number of citations per graduate was 123 (21212 total) for NRT and 552 (7175 total) for RT (p < 0.001). Additionally, 36% of NRT graduates and 92% of RT graduates (p = 0.005) held academic job positions.

Residents from the radiology residency research track were more likely to assume academic positions and had a higher number of publications and citations per resident compared to their non-research track counterparts, suggesting the track serves as an effective pipeline for cultivating academic radiologists.