Maintaining a healthy work environment with hybrid and remote pediatric radiologists

Providing hybrid and remote work opportunities has allowed pediatric radiology groups to recruit and retain in the setting of a national and international shortage of pediatric radiologists. The necessity of off-site radiologists from an operational perspective should be thoughtfully balanced against maintaining visibility in decision-making spheres both within and outside of radiology, particularly as the role of radiologists is being challenged by proponents of artificial intelligence. Problems that may arise due to a hybrid and remote model include interpersonal friction due to real or perceived inequities and decreased quality of informal mentorship and trainee education, potentially narrowing the pipeline of future pediatric radiologists. In our practice, we have attempted to mitigate these concerns by prioritizing fairness, avoiding siloing and overemphasis on individual work relative value units (wRVUs), and frequent multidirectional communication.