9 Tools to Keep Your Radiology Knowledge Sharp
A roundup of some of the best tools for keeping up with radiology trends.
As one of medicine’s most technology-based fields, radiology stays in a nearly constant state of change and growth. With new developments and a plethora of regulations molding and changing how radiologists should treat patients and manage their practices, providers can find themselves struggling to stay abreast of the most up-to-date information.
To help you stay current, Diagnostic Imaging compiled a list of nine resources that can help you keep your skills sharp.
AIRP: American Institute of Radiologic Pathology
Launched by the American College of Radiology, this program offers training experiences for residents, fellows, and practicing radiologists. The 4-week, D.C.-based Radiologic Pathology Correlation Course includes presentations on a broad range of diseases and the pathological basis for all organ systems and imaging modalities. Experts in various areas of radiology are on-hand to offer instruction and one-on-one discussion.
Also offered by the American College of Radiology, this is your daily, online quiz to test your knowledge of sub-specialty cases. Each case comes from a resident, their mentors, or a practicing radiologist in the field. You can make a diagnosis, draw conclusions, and review images. Physicians can also earn continuing medical education credit.
As artificial intelligence becomes more integral in radiology, practitioners should learn more about how to use and create these tools. Via a vendor-neutral platform, you can learn artificial intelligence basics, explore how to use it in your practice, and create modules to meet the needs of your local patient populations.
Clinical Decision Support
With more regulations requiring the use of clinical decision support, it is critical for practicing radiologists and students to learn how to best use these tools for ordering and performing tests. Radiology-TEACHES is an online portal that provides case vignettes to help practitioners hone their skills.
Institute for Healthcare Improvement Open School
Through online courses, inter-professional communication, and project-based learning, this online forum offers avenues to augment core skills in quality, improvement, safety, systems design, and leadership. Courses are also available to earn a certificate in quality and safety improvement, as are resources to help you design and implement a quality improvement initiative at your own institution.
R-SCAN Quality Improvement Project
Work with other radiologists and referring physicians using evidenced-based performance measures and educational interventions to identify opportunities that improve your patient care performance. You will learn about specific performance measures, performance-improvement interventions, and performance evaluation.
Conferences
Whenever possible, take advantage of the opportunity to attend an annual meeting for a large radiology organization, such as the American College of Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America, the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine, and many others. Branch outside your your comfort zone and attend meetings that discuss topics other than your specialty area. Search out opportunities to participate in mentorship opportunities while there-many conferences offer breakout sessions for these types of conversations. And, whenever possible, attend networking events scheduled during the overall meeting to broaden your professional base.
This free-to-use website offers instructional modules, quizzes, and case studies for radiology for medical students through sub-specialists. It includes more than 5,000 pages of lectures, images, and links to additional resources. Many of the pages are broken down by sub-specialty, making it easier for you to search for topics based on your particular area of practice.