Cascade mentoring: a proposal for transforming radiology education in line with the European training curriculum

Although mentoring remains a fundamental part of medical training, the traditional approach of a senior mentor guiding a junior trainee often fails to meet the diverse and evolving needs of learners in radiology. While peer and near-peer mentoring approaches have shown promise, they often lack a scalable, structured framework. We present a cascade mentoring model embedded within the radiology training environment, in which senior trainees mentor junior residents, who then supervise undergraduate learners. This model is aligned with the European Society of Radiology's (ESR) competency-based framework through the European training curriculum for radiology (ETC). It sets out the specific responsibilities of faculty members, early career radiologists, senior residents, junior residents and undergraduates. Mentorship activities include case discussions, clinical teaching, research collaboration and providing structured feedback. The cascade approach fosters skill acquisition, professional development and research engagement at every level. Senior residents can refine their expertise through teaching, junior residents can reinforce their foundational knowledge by guiding undergraduates, and undergraduates can gain structured, early exposure to radiology. Anticipated benefits include enhanced departmental integration, improved teaching skills among residents, greater undergraduate engagement and an optimised faculty workload. The Cascade Mentoring Model is an innovative, sustainable educational strategy that is aligned with the ETC. It empowers residents to become future educators and promotes radiology as a speciality. When implemented, overseen and evaluated deliberately, it has the potential to enhance radiology education programmes throughout Europe. Cascade mentoring can also help mitigate the shortage of radiologists by enhancing training capacity and retention of early-career radiologists. CRITICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: The cascade mentoring model provides a structured, scalable approach to radiology education aligned with the European training curriculum. By optimising faculty workload, strengthening residents' teaching skills and fostering early engagement, it supports high-quality training, workforce retention and sustainable radiology education across Europe. KEY POINTS: Traditional mentoring in radiology lacks scalability and responsiveness to learner diversity needs. Cascade mentoring structures near-peer teaching across undergraduate, resident and faculty levels. Model aligns with the ESR European training curriculum competency-based framework. Cascade mentoring enhances skills, teaching capacity, research engagement and professional development. Scalable approach supports workforce retention and sustainable radiology education in Europe.