Current Trends Among US Diagnostic Radiology Visiting Professor Programs

Virtual Visiting Professorship Program as an Opportunity for Academic and Clinical Advancement Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Survey of Participants

OBJECTIVE

To identify structure, benefits, and shortcomings of a multi-institutional virtual visiting professorship (VVP) program from 2020 to 2022, 2 years after inception and after gradual resumption of an in-person, prepandemic academic environment.

METHODS

An IRB-exempt, 70-question survey about structure, benefits, and shortcomings of the VVP program was distributed to its participants (14 breast imaging departments across the U.S.), using the snowball sampling technique.

RESULTS

A total of 72 responses were received; 54.2% (32/59) radiologists >5 years of experience, 18.6% (11/59) radiologists <5 years of experience, 15.3% (9/59) residents, and 8.5% (5/59) fellows. Radiologists' attendance increased from 8% (5/59) to 53% (31/59) over 2 years, with 69% (41/59) of respondents supporting continued participation. The most important factors for attendance were expanding breast imaging knowledge (86.4% [51/59]) and the virtual format (76.2% [45/59]). The number of presented lectures increased from 1 to 3 lectures in 43.7% (7/16) of programs in year 1 and from 4 to 9 lectures in 50% (8/16) of programs in year 2. The greatest professional benefits were collaborations on publications for organizers (56.3% [9/16]) and building academic portfolios for presenters (50% [7/14]). For trainees, attending the program increased their knowledge (64.3% [9/14]) and enthusiasm for breast imaging (50% [7/14]).

CONCLUSION

The VVP program facilitated scholarly collaboration among breast imaging radiologists, promoted academic portfolios for junior faculty, and increased enthusiasm for breast imaging for trainees. These accomplishments extended beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, as evidenced by the growth of the program after resumption of an in-person academic environment. Future expansion to other programs would benefit more practicing radiologists.

The Radiology Lecture Exchange (RALEX): A Virtual Visiting Professorship Platform for All

Visiting Professorships (VPs) have significant benefits for both the guest lecturer and host institution. Such opportunities increase knowledge dissemination, research collaboration, opportunities for junior faculty members, and educational material that shores up perceived weaknesses in the host institution's training program. While VPs provide these benefits, such invitations are often costly due to travel and accommodation expenses, which can be challenging for host institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic - with the forced social and work distancing - has mandated that radiologists rethink how they interact and collaborate within their department and also within the larger medical and radiology communities. Virtual platforms have become critical for communication and education, and in this altered academic environment have provided an opportunity for us to redesign how VPs are designed. The virtual VP removes many of the cost and time burdens associated with travel and even enables greater communication where it might not have been economically or time-feasible. We present a virtual Microsoft Teams (Redmond, WA) based platform for facilitating VPs in all subspecialties and for all ranks called the Radiology Lecture Exchange.

Current state of Grand Rounds in U.S. pathology training programs

Grand Rounds are held with variable frequency in many academic pathology departments, but their exact goal is uncertain, and the type of subjects covered, and presenters have not been studied. We aimed to gather information about the current state of pathology grand rounds (PGR). We identified all US pathology residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and searched their websites for information regarding PGR, extracting data on their existence, frequency and timing. For a representative subgroup of institutions from all US regions and program sizes, we tabulated the 2017-2018 PGR titles and presenters (gender, degree(s), resident/fellow, faculty academic rank). We found that 71 of 142 (50%) ACGME-accredited programs had PGR, more often in programs with >12 residents (53/88, 60%). PGR were scheduled most commonly weekly, on Thursdays, and at noon. We analyzed 1019 PGR presentations from 41 institutions located in 26 US states. Among the 1105 presenters, 183 (16.56%) were trainees, 74 (6.7%) were non-academic, and 848 (76.7%) were faculty, 559 male and 289 female (M/F = 1.93). M/F ratio increased with academic rank, from 1.0 (117/115) for assistant, to 2.0 (135/68) for associate, and 2.9 (307/106) for full professors. Topics covered by PGR belonged to anatomic pathology (357), clinical pathology (209), research (184) or other medical or surgical specialties (149). Our study suggests that trainees are a major intended audience of pathology grand round. Unfortunately, there is a gender gap among pathology grand round presenters that widens with increasing academic rank of presenters.