Hybrid working in radiology: the promise and the perils

What Program Directors Think About Resident Education: Results of the 2023 Spring Survey of the Association of Program Directors in Radiology (APDR) Part II

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

The Association of Program Directors in Radiology (APDR) administers an annual survey to assess issues and experiences related to residency program management and education. Response data from the 2023 survey provides insights on the impact of COVID-19 on resident recruitment (Part I) and education (Part II), which can be used to facilitate planning and resource allocation for the evolving needs of programs and their leadership.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An observational, cross-sectional study of the APDR membership was performed using a web-based survey consisting of 45 questions, 12 of which pertain to resident education in the post-pandemic era and are discussed in Part II of a two-part survey analysis. All active APDR members (n = 393) were invited to participate in the survey.

RESULTS

The response rate was 32% (124 of 393). Results were tallied using Qualtrics software and qualitative responses were tabulated or summarized as comments.

CONCLUSIONS

The primary challenges to resident education are faculty burnout, rising case volumes, and remote instruction. However, most program leaders report that in-person readouts are much more common than remote readouts. The ability to offer both in-person and remote AIRP sessions is viewed positively. Most program leaders require Authorized User certification, although many do not think all residents need it. Assessment of procedural competence varies by the type of procedure and is similar to graduates' self-assessment of competence.

Women in Radiology: Challenges and Opportunities

Improving the status of women in radiology is crucial to better work environments. There is strong evidence in the business world that women leaders improve the workplace by making it more financially viable and by increasing collaboration, job satisfaction, and engagement. Diverse leadership fosters innovation, and women approach problem-solving with unique insights and collaborative styles. Gender diversity in leadership correlates with improved patient outcomes because women leaders prioritize patient-centered care and communication. Women create sustainable, productive work and improve radiology. Women serve as powerful role models, inspiring the next generation of women in radiology and addressing gender disparities. Increasing women leaders in radiology is essential to increase the number of women in radiology. This article summarizes many challenges women face when taking leadership roles: organizational biases prioritizing male viewpoints and marginalizing women's voices and contributions, a lack of role models, a lack of time ("second shift"), a lack of confidence, a lack of interest or perceived benefit, a lack of support, burnout, and previous poor experiences. While systemic issues are difficult to overcome, this article assists in the training and development of women radiologists by offering strategies to enhance job satisfaction and bring new and valuable perspectives to leadership.

Strategies for successful integration of work from home faculty in an academic radiology department

Academic radiology departments have added increasing numbers of entirely remote "work-from-home" or hybrid faculty. This change has presented both an opportunity to recruit and retain faculty as well as a set of challenges to maintaining the full academic mission and educational environment. In this article we describe our experience with creating a remote faculty position and the key elements that we believe made it successful. Guiding principles for the department and faculty member accepting such a position are proposed and discussed.

The Undermined ACGME Subcompetency: A Roadmap for Radiology Residency Programs to Foster Residents-as-Educators

Radiology Residency programs in the United States use a set of six core competencies as laid out by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to evaluate the foundational skills of every resident. Despite the fact that educational skills are included under the heading of Practice-Based Learning and Improvement in the ACGME guidelines for radiology residents, it is often underappreciated and undervalued, when compared with medical knowledge or patient care. In this paper, the authors lay out the important role of residents-as-educators and how it can be inculcated as part of formal training during residency. They enunciate five pillars for academic programs to build and maintain the pedagogical skills of their radiology residents: Training, Practicing, Providing Feedback, Mentoring, and Changing the Culture. The authors believe that implementing this will holistically benefit radiology residents as well as radiology in building future educators. The authors also delineate the challenges that programs currently face in implementation and ways to overcome them.

Opinions on Remote and in-Person Breast Imaging Work: Survey Results from the Society of Breast Imaging

OBJECTIVE

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic accelerated trends in remote radiology work. We evaluated the opinions of Society of Breast Imaging (SBI) members regarding remote and in-person breast imaging work.

METHODS

An institutional review board-exempt anonymous survey was distributed to SBI members. Survey questions included demographics and opinions on remote and in-person work.

RESULTS

The response rate was 12% (307/2561). Overall, 79% of respondents preferred hybrid work, 16% preferred in-person work, and 5% preferred fully remote work. Only 34% of respondents had remote work in current practice. Screening mammograms (97%) and breast MRI (92%) were deemed most suitable for remote work. Most respondents believed barriers for remote work were inability to perform US (80%) and high monitor price (78%). Seventy-six percent of respondents believed remote work improves work-life balance and reduces burnout. Work model preferences were significantly associated with gender (P = .048) and perceived work-related impacts (P <.001). Women were more likely to prefer hybrid work than men (82% vs 73%). Compared to those who preferred in-person work, respondents who preferred hybrid work were more likely to believe remote work improves efficiency (89% vs 3%) and reduces burnout (88% vs 6%) while not negatively affecting career growth (88% vs 3%) or communication (87% vs 4%).

CONCLUSION

Hybrid work is the preferred model among SBI survey respondents. However, a minority have the option for remote work in current practice. Perceived benefits of remote work are efficiency and reduced burnout among breast imaging radiologists while not negatively affecting career growth or communication.