Mentorship in academic radiology: why it matters

The Status of Canadian Radiology Mentorship Programs, Where We Stand and Where to Improve

Background: The importance of mentorship in medicine is well-established. Access to mentors is pivotal in enhancing career opportunities and networking, increasing research productivity, and overall wellness and resilience at all career stages. Our study aims to assess the current status of radiology mentorship programs for Canadian medical students and radiology residents. Methods: We distributed an anonymous survey to Canadian radiology program directors in December 2022. The questions pertained to the existing mentorship programs' specific goals, structure, and success. Our null hypothesis was that medical students and residents have similar mentorship opportunities. Results: We have received 12 responses (a response rate of 12/16 = 75%), 9 of which had formal mentorship programs and 3 (25%) did not. Comparing the mentorship program for medical students and residents yielded a P-value = .11 > .05. This result does not reject our null hypothesis, indicating there is no significant difference between these 2 groups. Using qualitative analysis, we categorized the responses into 4 main themes: mentorship programs' goals, structures, evaluation methods, and their results. Conclusion: Although our result did not reach statistical significance (P-value = .11 > .05), the observed trend shows that one third of Canadian medical schools do not offer a radiology mentorship program for medical students, highlighting a potentially significant opportunity for improvement. Qualitative analysis shows that despite various methods for assigning mentees to mentors, developing formalized yet flexible mentorship models that allow students and residents to self-select their mentors might be more beneficial than randomly assigning mentors to them.

Framework for Successful Integration of Health Services Research Into a Breast Imaging Career

Health services research (HSR) is a multidisciplinary field of inquiry that examines how health care is structured, providing valuable data on health care outcomes and delivery. Over the past few decades, a shift in the U.S. health care system toward value-based care has placed a priority on health services topics. Health services research has been central to the evolution of breast imaging over this period, with increased emphasis placed on the following: (1) design of appropriate-use criteria for imaging services; (2) determination of cost-effectiveness of imaging protocols and screening regimens guiding policy; and (3) evaluation of policy related to reimbursement for diagnostic imaging and image-guided procedures. Examples of HSR topics that can be applied directly to breast imaging include evaluation of health care availability and accessibility, analysis of health care use patterns, exploration of patient preferences, assessment of technological innovation, development and implementation of clinical practice guidelines and screening strategies, and examination of health care organization and delivery models. Breast imaging radiologists who perform HSR are uniquely positioned to advocate for patients, to promote transformative health care interventions, and to influence policy changes and public health initiatives in breast imaging through analysis of health care data and translation of their research findings. In this Training and Professional Development article, we aim to provide practical approaches to explore interest in HSR and to describe a framework for successful integration of HSR into a breast imaging career.

Mentorship in academic musculoskeletal radiology: perspectives from a junior faculty member

The first years of an academic musculoskeletal (MSK) faculty position are a time of transition for the junior faculty member, who must rapidly adjust to new clinical, academic, operational, and professional responsibilities. Mentoring has a critical role in helping the faculty member to thrive in these early years. Establishing clear communication, trust, and expectations can set the foundation for an effective mentoring relationship. Junior faculty members ideally would have multiple mentors with different areas of expertise, including mentors of all roles in MSK radiology but also in other radiology divisions and other departments. Private practice MSK radiologists can also benefit from mentorship. Barriers to mentoring in MSK radiology include overall smaller division sizes, a newer and smaller field on a national level, and the increase in clinical volume and remote work that results in less face-to-face interaction. Despite the challenges, both junior MSK faculty members and their mentors can benefit greatly from strong mentoring connections.

Catalyzing Increased Representation of Women in Radiology: Role of Radiology Interest Groups

Radiology Interest Groups (RIGs) in medical education are a catalyst for enhancing the appeal of the discipline and catapulting professional development of medical students. Despite the growing number of women amongst medical school graduates, a significant gender disparity persists in radiology, partly due to obstacles including limited exposure, lack of role models and mentors. This article evaluates the role of RIGs in bridging the gender gap and highlights the challenges women medical students face and proposes targeted initiatives to promote their participation in RIGs.

Developing a Career as a Clinician-Educator in Breast Imaging

For the breast imaging radiologist, developing a career as a clinician-educator can be accomplished in a number of ways. Whether it be a new graduate or perhaps a radiologist making a midcareer or late-career pivot to the academic world, there are several opportunities and resources that can support a faculty member at any stage in this journey. In this article, the breast imaging radiologist will learn a variety of methods to strengthen their professional identity and career path as a clinician-educator through the early-, mid-, and late-career professional journey.

Ergonomic considerations for the modern radiology practice: An update

The average post-pandemic modern radiology practice is experiencing an ever-increasing workload volume with overall relatively similar staffing levels, regardless of practice setting. This has resulted in an increased workload demand for the average diagnostic radiologist, which in many cases translates to longer working hours. It is now more important than ever to be cognizant of various work-related injuries, including repetitive-stress injuries and vision-related ailments as examples, in relation to the working conditions of the radiologist. This article will discuss commonly occurring conditions and ergonomic considerations that the radiologist can employ to reduce the risk of work-related injuries.

Current diversity in radiology: A comparative study

PURPOSE

To compare the demographic characteristics of active physicians, trainees, medical school clinical sciences faculty, and department chairs in radiology with those in other medical specialties.

METHODS

An analysis was conducted using publicly available deidentified aggregate data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Our data collection included information from the 2022 AAMC Physician Specialty Data Report, the 2022 AAMC Report on Residents, and the 2022 AAMC Faculty Roster. We examined factors such as graduation country, gender, and self-identified race/ethnicity. MedCalc software was used for the analyses.

RESULTS

Compared to other specialties, active radiologists exhibited a significantly lower percentage of females, International Medical Graduates (IMGs), individuals of American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) descent, Black/African-American individuals, and individuals of Hispanic/Latino/Spanish origin. Conversely, the proportion of White active radiologists was higher. Among radiology trainees, there was a notably lower percentages of females, IMGs, individuals of Black/African-American descent, and individuals of Hispanic/Latino/Spanish origin, while the percentage of Asians was significantly higher. Furthermore, medical school radiology faculty showed a significant lower proportion of females, Black/African-American individuals, Hispanic/Latino/Spanish individuals, and individuals categorized under the white race/ethnicity, with Asians having a higher representation. As radiology department chairs, Asians were noted at significantly lower percentages compared to their proportions among medical school radiology faculty, while Black/African-American individuals were observed at significantly higher percentages in the same comparison.

CONCLUSION

This study revealed a notable underrepresentation of females, individuals of Black/African-American descent, and those of Hispanic/Latino/Spanish origin among active radiologists, radiology trainees, and medical school radiology faculty when compared to their counterparts in other medical specialties. Given these findings, further investigation into the underlying causes of these disparities is warranted.

Long-term quality improvement in radiology specialty training at a tertiary cardiothoracic centre

OBJECTIVES

This quality improvement project (QIP) aimed to foster radiology training at a regional tertiary cardiothoracic centre that had very low trainee satisfaction rankings.

METHODS

To study the problem and intervene timely, multiple methods were applied, including a local feedback survey, placement reorganisation, consultant encouragement to train as accredited supervisors, followed by departmental education portal creation and start of externally funded Visiting Fellowships and salaried Clinical Fellowships. The regional rating was monitored. The local feedback survey was distributed and analysed using descriptive statistics. Alongside the QIP, service expansion occurred.

RESULTS

The site regionally ranked 9/19 in 2 years. Local survey responses (53) showed continuous improvement; cardiothoracic subspecialty interest (+39%) and audit/academic involvement (+36%) increased. Multiple Fellowships were completed; internationally reputable placements were agreed upon. Most consultants trained as supervisors. Per increased demand, compulsory deanery posts were changed to motivation-based, and an additional salaried position was offered. Five fellows stayed in the region as subspecialist consultants. Unexpected challenges included space and workstation loss with service expansion, lack of regional surveys since 2019, and the global pandemic. Regardless, the results were positive with subspecialty interest and projected reputational effect increase. Local long-term survey provided sustainable data in detecting improvement areas.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the national radiologist shortage, this quality improvement project shows a possible positive impact of similar interventions, including workforce retention/recruitment and thus improving patient care.

ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE

Continuous feedback and quality improvement maintenance are valuable to enhance training quality locally and beyond.

Maximizing Mentorship Throughout Your Breast Imaging Career

Unlike many other subspecialties in radiology, breast radiologists practice in a patient-facing and interdisciplinary environment where team building, communication, and leadership skills are critical. Although breast radiologists can improve these skills over time, strong mentorship can accelerate this process, leading to a more successful and satisfying career. In addition to providing advice, insight, feedback, and encouragement to mentees, mentors help advance the field of breast radiology by contributing to the development of the next generation of leaders. During the mentorship process, mentors continue to hone their listening, problem-solving, and networking skills, which in turn creates a more supportive and nurturing work environment for the entire breast care team. This article reviews important mentorship skills that are essential for all breast radiologists. Although some of the principles apply to all mentoring relationships, ensuring that every breast radiologist has the skills to be both an effective mentor and mentee is key to the future of the profession.

Medical students within the Radiology Departments: Drawback or opportunity?

University Radiology training has been carried out for years out of the Radiology Departments, where radiologists play their professional role. However, the educational needs and the leadership of the Scientific Societies make the Radiology Departments to be involved more and more in that training, though it has to be done in overloaded professional environments where medical students can be seen as a drawback. Nevertheless, radiologists must play an important role in the Radiology training of the future doctors for optimising the use of diagnostic imaging techniques and enhance the future of the specialty by bringing to our Departments those medical students who had demonstrated the most adequate personal profiles. The Radiology Department is that place to succeed by increasing the healthcare outcomes, the research results and the visibility of Radiology through a fruitful interaction between radiologists and medical students.

State of Academic Radiology: Current Challenges, Future Adaptations

There are approximately 200 academic radiology departments in the United States. While academic medical centers vary widely depending on their size, complexity, medical school affiliation, research portfolio, and geographic location, they are united by their 3 core missions: patient care, education and training, and scholarship. Despite inherent differences, the current challenges faced by all academic radiology departments have common threads; potential solutions and future adaptations will need to be tailored and individualized-one size will not fit all. In this article, we provide an overview based on our experiences at 4 academic centers across the United States, from relatively small to very large size, and discuss creative and innovative ways to adapt, including community expansion, hybrid models of faculty in-person vs teleradiology (traditional vs non-traditional schedule), work-life integration, recruitment and retention, mentorship, among others.

Development, Implementation, and Assessment of a Quality, Research, Education, and Wellness (QREW) Professional Development Lecture Series for Radiology Faculty

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Professional development is important to academic radiologists. We developed, implemented, and assessed an internal professional development lecture series focusing on the non-interpretative themes of Quality, Research, Education, and Wellness (QREW).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The faculty of a 29-member abdominal radiology division at an academic hospital were invited to deliver 1-hour virtual lectures on noninterpretative topics to division colleagues. Topics were curated by division leadership based on the perceived needs of faculty. Anonymous feedback was collected from attendees for quality improvement purposes and analyzed using descriptive statistics and Fisher's exact test.

RESULTS

Over 17 months, 13 QREW lectures were delivered. In total, 91 feedback forms were completed by faculty (mean 7 forms, range 2-12 per session). Of these, 57 responses (63%) were by those <7 years post training ("junior faculty"), 34 responses (37%) by those ≥ 7 years from training ("senior faculty"). Most respondents reported low levels of prior instruction (80/90, 89%) and personal knowledge (49/91, 54%) on topics. Compared to senior faculty, a greater proportion of junior faculty reported less prior instruction (73% vs 98%, P < 0.001) and less personal knowledge (32% vs 65%, P < 0.01). Most respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the topics were important to their clinical practice (87/90, 97%), professional development (86/90, 96%), and personal well-being (82/91, 90%). Faculty identified the QREW program as a major contributor to their professional development.

CONCLUSION

A noninterpretative professional development lecture series delivered by radiology faculty in a virtual, interactive format is feasible and effective, particularly for junior faculty.

Psychological Safety as a New ACGME Requirement: A Comprehensive All-in-One Guide to Radiology Residency Programs

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

With the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education recently updating their common program requirements to include components of psychological safety as a core principle, radiology training programs and academic radiology institutions will need to evaluate psychological safety within their residency programs and implement practices to sustain a safety culture. This article reviews current literature to present a concise guide for radiology programs on best practices for implementing psychological safety, considering the plethora of literature that is available.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We searched PubMed for published studies evaluating safety culture in medical education and residency. The key words used were Psychological Safety, Education, Radiology, Workplace Culture, and Leadership.

RESULTS

Ninety two studies were reviewed that contributed to the topics examined throughout this manuscript, including a brief history of psychological safety, evolving challenges, and a summation of best practices at the institutional, interpersonal, and individual levels that can result in a sustainable psychologically safe culture for radiology residents.

CONCLUSION

This article will highlight unique considerations pertinent to a radiology residency program, including suggestions for creating a less stressful environment during case conferences, fostering and supporting residents who are struggling, and inclusive psychological safety practices that also consider non-resident contributors to a residency program, such as attending physician faculty and non-physician radiology technicians.

Developing a Late-Career Roadmap to Continued Career Engagement

Professional development needs span the entirety of a radiologist's career. Great strides have been made in the creation of an infrastructure for early career development. Work is ongoing to develop such resources for mid-career radiologists, given the recent recognition of the needs of this group. Unfortunately, even less attention has been paid to late-career radiologist development needs as a bridge to retirement. As part of the Career Conversations series, this article will highlight the needs and currently available resources for this group.

Breast Imaging Research: Tips for Obtaining Funding and Sustaining a Successful Career

Many factors are involved in the successful development of early career breast imaging radiologists into independent investigators conducting impactful research. Key basic prerequisites for success include a motivated and resilient radiologist, institutional and departmental commitment to supporting early career physician-scientists, strong mentorship, and a flexible strategy for extramural funding that accounts for individualized professional goals. In this review, we describe these factors in greater detail, providing a practical overview for residents, fellows, and junior faculty who are interested in an academic career as a breast imaging radiologist engaged in original scientific research. We also describe the essential pieces of grant applications and summarize the professional milestones for early career physician-scientists as they look toward promotion to associate professor and sustained extramural funding.

Recommendations for Improving Canadian Radiology Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Improving equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) within Canadian radiology is critical for optimal patient care and to reduce health disparities. Although there are increasing national EDI initiatives, there is a paucity of resources available to assist radiology departments as the culture of EDI evolves and faculty and institutions are expected to incorporate EDI in their practice. We present practical recommendations for radiology departments, radiology training programs, and individual radiologists wishing or mandated to improve EDI in the workplace. Actionable strategies for creating an environment that promotes EDI, attracting and supporting diverse trainees, and for how individual radiologists can be allies are presented. These EDI strategies are imperative to provide the best patient care and to strengthen the future of Canadian radiology.

A First Look at Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion of Canadian Medical Physicists: Results From the 2021 COMP EDI Climate Survey

PURPOSE

In 2021, the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP) conducted its first equity, diversity, and inclusion Climate Survey. The membership's experiences of inclusion, belonging, professional opportunities, discrimination, microaggressions, racism, and harassment in their professional lives are presented.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

The ethics-reviewed survey was distributed in English and French to full members of COMP. Participants responded to questions covering demographics and professional climate. Simple descriptive statistics were used to measure frequency of responses. Data pertaining to impressions on the climate within the profession were compared using nonparametric statistical tests.

RESULTS

The survey was distributed to 649 eligible members; 243 (37%) responded, and 214 (33%) provided full response sets. From the full response sets, findings showed that in general, age, highest academic degree, and racial and ethnic distribution trends of medical physicists were comparable with previously collected data and/or the Canadian population. The experiences of respondents relating to harassment in the workplace and perception of climate are reported and provide a useful benchmark for future assessments of interventions or training programs. In the workplace, fewer women (58%) reported having professional opportunities compared with men (70%). The survey also found that 17% of respondents (most of whom were women) directly or indirectly experienced sexual harassment in the workplace within the past 5 years. Finding that 23% of survey respondents identified as having a disability is a valuable reminder that accommodations in the workplace are necessary for more than 1 in every 5 medical physicists working in clinics.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provided insight into the diversity and experiences of medical physicists in Canada. The majority of respondents had positive perceptions about their professional environment. However, equity-lacking groups were identified, such as women, underrepresented minorities, Indigenous peoples, and people with visible and invisible disabilities.

Mentoring as an Appropriate Strategy for Medical Faculty Member Development in Higher Education: A Systematic Review

INTRODUCTION

Human resources development, especially faculty members who play a substantial role in education, is of great importance and can lead to enhanced competence and participation of employees in university affairs. Mentoring is one of the programs that have attracted the attention of activists in this field today. This review aims to integrate the evidence about the goals, methods, implementation steps, and consequences of the mentoring methods for faculty member development in higher education institutions.

METHODS

We used a systematic review in this study. Keywords related to the mentoring program were searched in gateways and databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC from 2000 to 2021. In the initial search, 638 articles were found, and 16 studies were reviewed after excluding those unrelated to the research objective.

RESULTS

The results showed that the mentoring program included three stages: "Targeting and Familiarization with the Implementation of the Mentoring Program", "Mentoring Program Implementation", and "Evaluation of the Mentoring Program". The implementation approaches included Traditional One-to-one Mentoring Program, Peer Mentoring Program, and Distance Education Mentoring Program.

CONCLUSION

This study identified the stages and types of mentoring programs and revealed that their employment, especially the distance education mentoring program, led to the advancement of faculty members in various fields. A mixed-method approach to program evaluation can provide more appropriate views of the effects of these programs.

Gender disparity in academic advancement: exploring differences among adult and pediatric radiologists

BACKGROUND

Gender imbalance in research output and academic rank in academic radiology is well-documented and long-standing. Less is known regarding this imbalance among pediatric radiologists.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize gender differences for academic rank and scholarly productivity of pediatric radiologists relative to adult radiologists.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

During summer 2021, faculty data for the top 10 U.S. News & World Report ranked adult radiology programs and the top 12 largest pediatric hospital radiology departments were collected. Information regarding self-reported gender, age, years of practice and academic rank was accessed from institutional websites and public provider databases. The h-index and the number of publications were acquired via Scopus. Group comparisons were performed using Mann-Whitney and chi-square tests.

RESULTS

Three hundred and sixty-four (160 women) pediatric and 1,170 (468 women) adult radiologists were included. Compared to adult radiologists, there were significantly fewer pediatric radiologists in advanced ranks (associate or full professor) (P = 0.024), driven by differences between male (P = 0.033) but not female radiologists (P = 0.67). Among pediatric radiologists, there was no significant difference in years in practice (P = 0.29) between males and females. There also was no significant difference in academic rank by gender (P = 0.37), different from adult radiology where men outnumber women in advanced ranks (P < 0.001). Male pediatric radiologists displayed higher academic productivity (h-index: 9.0 vs. 7.0; P = 0.01 and number of publications: 31 vs. 18; P = 0.003) than their female colleagues.

CONCLUSION

Academic pediatric radiology seems to have more equitable academic advancement than academic adult radiology. Despite similar time in the workforce, academic output among female pediatric radiologists lags that of their male colleagues.

Scholarly Opportunities for Medical Students and Residents in Canadian Medical Professional Organizations

OBJECTIVES

Participation in medical specialty organizations can provide medical students and residents with additional research, advocacy, networking, and leadership opportunities. Although past research has looked at individual specialties in the United States, little is known about trainee involvement in Canadian organizations. Therefore, the aim of this study is to review the opportunities available for medical students and residents within Canadian medical specialty organizations.

METHODS

The websites of 71 Canadian medical specialty organizations were reviewed to assess levels of trainee participation.

RESULTS

Of the 71 organizations reviewed, 42 (59%) allow medical students and 67 (94%) allow residents to become members. Most organizations allow trainees to attend their annual conference (83% for students and 93% for residents), and the mean cost of attending the most recent virtual conference was $114 (range: $0-$475) for students and $142 (range: $0-$475) for residents. Twenty-two organizations (31%) have travel awards for students and 37 (52%) have awards for residents. Research grants are available in 41 (58%) of organizations for students and 56 (79%) for residents. Formal mentorship programs exist in 16 (23%) organizations for students and 25 (35%) for residents.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge, this study highlights for the first time the scholarly opportunities available to trainees within Canadian medical specialty organizations.

Academic Onboarding: A Practical Guide for the Junior, Early Career Radiologist

A career in academia can provide a long-lasting, stimulating and fulfilling experience. It is an opportunity for professional growth, teaching, generating knowledge, and personal fulfillment. Many academic institutions experience challenges with low faculty retention and professional engagement. Increased awareness of early career challenges and development of onboarding programs can facilitate the transition into academia and help increase short- and long-term job satisfaction. In this article, we review challenges that radiologists are likely to encounter in academic careers, and how they can maximize opportunities for professional development. We provide practical tips based on literature review as well as personal experience with the hope that they may have a positive impact on attrition rate.

Mentoring within the medical radiation sciences - Establishing a national program

Introduction

The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy and performance of 12 pre-trained deep learning models for classifying covid-19 and normal chest X-ray images from Kaggle.

Materials

a desktop computer with an Intel CPU i9-10900 2.80GHz and NVIDIA GPU GeForce RTX2070 SUPER, Anaconda3 software with 12 pre-trained models including VGG16, VGG19, DenseNet121, DenseNet169, DenseNet201, RestNet50V2, RestNet101V2, RestNet152V2, InceptionRestnetV2, InceptionV3, XceptionV1 and MobileNetV2, covid-19 and normal chest X-ray from Kaggle website.

Methods

the images were divided into three sets of train, test, and validation sets using a ratio of 70:20:10, respectively. The performance was recorded for each pre-train model with hyperparameters of epoch, batch size, and learning rate as 16, 16 and 0.0001 respectively. The prediction results of each model were recorded and compared.

Results

from the results of all 12 pre-trained deep learning model, five models that have highest validation accuracy were DenseNet169, DenseNet201, InceptionV3, DenseNet121 and InceptionRestNetV2, respectively.

Conclusion

The top-5 highest accuracy models for classifying the COVID-19 were DenseNet169, DenseNet201, InceptionV3, DenseNet121 and InceptionRestnetV2 with accuracies of 95.4%, 95.07%, 94.73%, 94.51% and 93.61% respectively.

Issues Most Pressing to Early-Career Interventional Radiologists: Results of a Descriptive Survey

PURPOSE

To determine demographics, practice patterns, needs from Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), and preferences of interventional radiologists (IRs) early in their careers.

METHODS

A 28-question descriptive survey was used to identify demographic and practice composition, practice issues, and needs of early career IRs. The survey was distributed to SIR members in the United States (US) (n = 859) within the first 8 years of practice, with 213 respondents (25%).

RESULTS

Respondents were primarily male (n = 181, 87%), less than 40 years old (n = 156, 73%), in practice for 6 years or less (n = 167, 79%), and satisfied with IR as a career (n = 183, 92.4%). The majority were in academic practice (n = 89, 43.2%) or large private practice group (n = 67, 32.5%). Most respondents read diagnostic imaging daily or weekly (n = 130, 61%). The majority of respondents perform complex procedures regularly including transarterial tumor therapy, percutaneous tumor ablation, peripheral arterial interventions, and biliary interventions monthly. Many respondents (n = 49, 23%) have changed jobs at least once citing career advancement, practice issues/disagreements, or compensation as reason. Most respondents would serve as mentors (n = 170, 80%) for trainees and were satisfied with their career mentorship (n = 166, 78%). Respondents felt that mentorship, identification of barriers facing early career IRs, and networking should be the most important functions of the Early Career Section (ECS)of the SIR.

CONCLUSION

As nearly all survey respondents indicated that early career IRs have different needs and priorities than established physicians, they felt that mentorship, identification of barriers facing early career IRs, and networking should be the most important functions of the ECS. Additionally, this same group of IRs report low comfort with the business side of medicine and may benefit from directed content provided by the SIR ECS.

Female representation in radiology subspecialty interest groups in Australia and New Zealand

INTRODUCTION

Women comprise 31% of the Australian and New Zealand radiology workforce, and 35% of radiology trainees. To date, there has been no study of female representation within clinical radiology subspecialties in Australia and New Zealand. This study aims to quantify female representation among the clinical radiology subspecialty interest groups (SIGs) in Australia and New Zealand.

METHODS

A list of SIGs was compiled using the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) website. The executive of each SIG or the RANZCR Standards committee was contacted with a request to provide the number of female versus male members for each subspecialty group and their executive.

RESULTS

Six out of 10 SIGs reported a low proportion of female members; this was most pronounced for IRSA (interventional radiology; 7% women), AMSIG (musculoskeletal imaging; 13% women) and CCINR (interventional neuroradiology; 13% women). Female radiologists accounted for >50% of membership in four SIGs: OGSIG (obstetrics/gynaecology imaging; 87% women), BIG (breast imaging; 73% women), ARGANZ (abdominal imaging; 69% women) and ANZSTR (thoracic imaging; 69% women). Female executive representation ranged from 0% (IRSA (interventional radiology) and ANZSNR (neuroradiology)) to 100% (OGSIG (obstetrics/gynaecology imaging)).

CONCLUSION

Female representation within the membership and representative leadership of some SIGs is well below parity and active initiatives to improve female representation should be considered.

Navigating the glass labyrinth: Addressing gender diversity in Australian and New Zealand representative radiology leadership

INTRODUCTION

Gender inequity among representative leadership in Clinical Radiology is a global issue, with the lack of gender diversity in leadership even more marked when compared to workforce representation. Women leaders face a disproportionate magnitude of seen and unseen challenges to leadership engagement and progression when compared to men (a 'glass labyrinth'), which is likely contributing to this discrepancy. The aim of the study was to examine and reflect on the state of gender diversity in representative leadership within the RANZCR Faculty of Clinical Radiology.

METHODS

Review of the 2021 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) Board, Clinical Radiology Faculty Council and local Branch Committees with regard to the numbers of women and men in representative roles.

RESULTS

In 2021, the RANZCR Board had no women representatives from Clinical Radiology (one woman representative from Radiation Oncology). 1/5 Clinical Radiology Faculty Council office Bearers were women. Local Branch Committees had 16.3% (13/80) women representatives. Three branches (the NSW, ACT and Victorian branches) had no women representatives. There were no women Committee Chairs, Branch Secretaries or Treasurers, with 2/7 Branch Education Officers women.

CONCLUSION

The issues underpinning gender inequality in representative leadership are complex and diverse, resulting in disproportionate losses of women radiologists along the leadership pathway compared to men. Unconscious biases, including assumptions of inferior capability, capacity and credibility among women radiologist leaders, create unique challenges at organisational, institutional and personal levels. Change cannot be achieved by passive momentum alone: concrete initiatives and active engagement are required. To improve leadership diversity, strategies must be multifaceted and supported at an organisational level.

Virtual Mentoring: A Guide to Navigating a New Age in Mentorship

Mentorship is a fundamental part of professional and personal growth. Over time, the fabric of mentorship has been transforming from typical one-on-one mentor-mentee relationship to other types including peer, group, speed, and virtual mentoring. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it caused major disruptions in many facets of life and career, including mentoring. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, live meetings were canceled, and social distancing measures were enacted at many institutions. Thus, the traditional set-up, with a face-to-face mentor and mentee interaction, was impossible. Many virtual platforms were utilized to navigate through these restrictions. In this review, we highlight challenges in mentorship during the COVID-19 pandemic and how we implemented different strategies to promote mentorship.

Key Factors to Attract More U.S. Diagnostic Radiology Residents into the Field of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging: A National Survey

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

To understand the current state of radiology residents' exposure to nuclear medicine and molecular imaging (NM/MI), determine key factors that may attract more trainees into the field, and identify differentiating aspects between those specializing in NM/MI and those who are not.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An anonymous web-based survey was sent to contacts at all diagnostic radiology residency programs in the United States for dissemination to their residents, collecting information about trainees' NM/MI exposure during residency and factors that may attract them to NM/MI.

RESULTS

A total of 198 trainees responded to the survey, 34 of whom plan on pursuing a career in NM/MI. Most trainees reported early exposure to NM/MI during residency; most (97.4%) reported ample exposure to general NM/MI and oncologic studies. Less than 3% of trainees reported adequate exposure to therapies, neurological applications, molecular imaging/research advances, and physics. Respondents reported a need for better quality education (38.9%) and exposure to mentors (28.8%) as ways to attract trainees to NM/MI. Routinely encountered clinical pathology was the most interesting for those specializing in NM/MI (29.4%), whereas lifestyle was the most attractive aspect of NM/MI for those not pursuing a career in the field (27.4%). NM/MI-associated research was the least attractive for those specializing in NM/MI (35.3%), while job market concerns was the least attractive aspect for those not specializing in NM/MI (37.2%). Trainees planning to specialize in NM/MI reported higher satisfaction with their orientation to NM/MI during their first clinical rotation compared to those who do not plan to specialize in the field (3.03/5.00 and 2.67/5.00, respectively, p = 0.04).

CONCLUSION

This survey highlights several factors that training programs and national societies can target to improve interest in NM/MI among radiology residents. We found that optimized education initiatives, including improved orientation to the field, increased mentoring, and career opportunities are essential levers for recruiting radiology trainees into the NM/MI workforce.

Leveraging diversity, equity and inclusion for promoting wellness in the radiology workplace

Over the last decade, health care professionals in the field of radiology have experienced increasing rates of burnout. A study in 2017 showed high prevalence of burnout in pediatric radiology, and other studies have identified several drivers for burnout. An important factor in promoting wellness and mitigating burnout is leveraging diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. This manuscript highlights the importance of diversity in high-functioning teams as well as the critical role of equity and inclusion in the workplace to help create an organization where people belong and can effectively succeed.

The role of radiologist in the changing world of healthcare: a White Paper of the European Society of Radiology (ESR)

Radiology as a specialty has been enormously successful since its beginnings, moving over time from an adjunct to clinical decision-making to a crucial component of multidisciplinary patient care. However, this increased centrality of radiology and reliance on our services carries within it dangers, prominent among them being the danger of our being viewed as deliverers of a commodity, and the risk of our becoming overwhelmed by increasing workload, unable to interact sufficiently with patients and referrers due to pressure of work. With this White Paper, the Board of Directors of the European Society of Radiology (ESR) seeks to briefly explain the position of the radiologist in the modern healthcare environment, considering our duties and contributions as doctors, protectors, communicators, innovators, scientists and teachers. This statement is intended to serve as a summary of the breadth of our responsibilities and roles, and to assist radiologists in countering misunderstanding of who we are and what we do.

Mentorship Interest in Breast Imaging: Survey Results From the Society of Breast Imaging

OBJECTIVE

This study assessed mentorship interest within the breast radiologist community to guide development of a mentorship program through the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI).

METHODS

A 19-question survey developed by the SBI mentorship committee was distributed electronically to its members March 16, 2021, to May 7, 2021, to gauge interest in forming a society-sponsored mentorship program. Responses were analyzed, with subgroups compared using chi-square analysis.

RESULTS

There was an 18% response rate (598/3277), and 65% (381/588) professed interest in an SBI-sponsored mentorship. Respondents were evenly distributed between academic (241/586, 41%) and private practice (242/586, 41%). Most were breast imaging fellowship-trained (355/593, 60%) and identified as female (420/596, 70%). For practice years, 50% (293/586) were late career (11+ years) with the remainder early-mid career (201/586, 34%) or trainees (92/586, 16%). For mentorship content areas, work/life balance was the most popular choice (275/395, 70%) followed by leadership (234/395, 59%). Most respondents were not currently mentors (279/377, 74%) or mentees (284/337, 84%). Those interested in a mentorship relationship were statistically younger (<45 years old, 234/381, 61% vs 31/207, 15%, P < 0.00001), female (289/381, 76% vs 123/207, 59%, P = 0.00003), academics (189/381, 50% vs 48/207, 23%, P < 0.00001), identified as a racial/ethnic minority (138/381, 64% vs 121/297, 15%, P < 0.00001), and fellowship-trained (262/381, 69% vs 88/207, 43%, P < 0.00001).

CONCLUSION

There is demand, especially among the society's young and minority members, for an SBI-sponsored mentorship program. Work/life balance and leadership were the most popular choices for guidance.

Comparison of error rates between four pretrained DenseNet convolutional neural network models and 13 board-certified veterinary radiologists when evaluating 15 labels of canine thoracic radiographs

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are commonly used as artificial intelligence (AI) tools for evaluating radiographs, but published studies testing their performance in veterinary patients are currently lacking. The purpose of this retrospective, secondary analysis, diagnostic accuracy study was to compare the error rates of four CNNs to the error rates of 13 veterinary radiologists for evaluating canine thoracic radiographs using an independent gold standard. Radiographs acquired at a referral institution were used to evaluate the four CNNs sharing a common architecture. Fifty radiographic studies were selected at random. The studies were evaluated independently by three board-certified veterinary radiologists for the presence or absence of 15 thoracic labels, thus creating the gold standard through the majority rule. The labels included "cardiovascular," "pulmonary," "pleural," "airway," and "other categories." The error rates for each of the CNNs and for 13 additional board-certified veterinary radiologists were calculated on those same studies. There was no statistical difference in the error rates among the four CNNs for the majority of the labels. However, the CNN's training method impacted the overall error rate for three of 15 labels. The veterinary radiologists had a statistically lower error rate than all four CNNs overall and for five labels (33%). There was only one label ("esophageal dilation") for which two CNNs were superior to the veterinary radiologists. Findings from the current study raise numerous questions that need to be addressed to further develop and standardize AI in the veterinary radiology environment and to optimize patient care.

Diversity and Inclusion in Anesthesiology

In today's world, departments of anesthesiology and professional organizations are rightfully expected to have racial, ethnic, and gender diversity. Diversity and inclusiveness are considered important contributors to an effective and collaborative work environment by promoting excellence in patient care, education, and research. This has been re-emphasized in the racial reckoning in the summer of 2020, and the ongoing health care disparities manifested by the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Moreover, the negative consequences of a lack of diversity and inclusion in health care have been shown to impact recruitment, retention, and the economic well-being of academic departments. In the present article, we review the current state of diversity in anesthesiology departments and professional organizations in the United States. We discuss strategies and important approaches to further enhance diversity to promote an inclusive perioperative work environment.

Mentoring for diversity and inclusion in pediatric radiology: nurturing the next generation of physicians from underrepresented minorities

The increasing recognition of the need for a diverse workforce as a tool for excellence in medicine has fortified the efforts toward recruitment, retention and development of faculty from racial and ethnic minorities. Despite these efforts, individuals of Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander backgrounds remain vastly underrepresented in the radiology workforce. The main impediments to increasing their representation are an insufficient pipeline and the long time required to train a pediatric radiologist. A greater representation of minorities can only be achieved through the enduring nurturing of future pediatric radiologists along every step in the professional life cycle of a physician, from high school through fellowship completion. Restructuring of faculty recruitment and faculty development policies is also required. A key component of faculty development and overall wellness is mentorship. Junior faculty, particularly those from racial and ethnic minorities, benefit from the experience, advice and support of more experienced radiologists. Successful mentorship is key to ensuring that staff from underrepresented backgrounds thrive within their institutions and in turn become successful mentors to younger individuals, thus completing a virtuous cycle of minority mentorship.

Mentoring in radiology: An asset worth exploring!

Residents experience high pressure to be successful in both their career and in keeping up an optimal work-life balance. With a mentoring program, faculties can alleviate stress and provide help for their residents. It is now well established that mentor-mentee relationships during medical school, have influence in career decisions and professional identity formation. The same can be said for mentor-mentee relationships during radiology residency. In general, universal rules of mentoring are also useful and applicable in the field of radiology. These universal rules for establishing a successful mentoring relationship include creating a relationship of trust and confidentiality, clearly defining roles and responsibilities, establishing short- and long-term goals, using open and supportive communication, and collaboratively solving problems. The institutions and the radiology departments should be well prepared and aware of the responsibility to have trainees, providing time for mentors to dedicate to their academic duties. They have to implement strategies to effective mentor matching and orientation as well as the ability to provide evaluation with qualitative feedback. Periodic assessment should be warranted together with the incorporation of new technology as it plays a critical role in the training of millennial radiologists as they take the profession into a technology-laden future of medical imaging.