Confidence in Radiological Skills and Perceived Adequacy of Radiology Training Among Medical Students and Interns in...

Radiology is important in modern medicine; therefore, adequate inclusion of radiology education in undergraduate medical schools is vital. This study aimed to (1) evaluate Palestinian medical students' and interns' perceptions of the adequacy of radiology training (curriculum content, mentorship, and integration into clinical practice) and (2) assess their self-reported confidence in applying core radiological skills (eg, image interpretation and selecting imaging modalities).

A survey-based cross-sectional study was conducted with 431 medical students and interns from 5 Palestinian medical faculties. An online questionnaire was created, reviewed for content validity, and shared with the recruited participants. Medical students and interns rated their perception of radiology training adequacy and self-reported confidence in applying radiological skills using a 15-item perception score and an 11-item confidence scale. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, independent t-tests, and Pearson correlation analyses were performed.

The mean perception score was 10.19 ± 2.92 (68% of total), with 50.6% meeting the predefined threshold for adequate perceived training (≥11/15). Although 96.8% believed physicians should possess basic radiological skills, only 43.2% considered their training sufficient. Confidence was low, with 93.5% scoring below the predefined benchmark (>35/44). Clinical students demonstrated higher confidence than interns (P = .014). Perception and confidence were weakly but significantly correlated (r = 0.309, P < .001).

Palestinian medical students and interns acknowledge radiology's importance but believe they were inadequately trained in radiology and displayed low confidence levels in applying radiological skills. Improving radiology curricula, enhancing mentorship, and the inclusion of simulation-based learning are recommended to increase students' confidence in applying radiological skills.