Institutional Interventional Radiology Symposium Increases Medical Student Interest and Identifies Target Recruitment Candidates

Publication date: Available online 12 April 2018
Source:Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology
Author(s): Mina S. Makary, Anand Rajan, Rose J. Miller, Eric D. Elliott, James W. Spain, Gregory E. Guy
ObjectivesTo assess and raise medical student interest in Interventional Radiology (IR); and to evaluate student response across gender, level of training, and surgical vs non-surgical specialty interest.Materials and MethodsAll Ohio medical students were invited to an IR Symposium held by a large academic medical center in central Ohio. The program encompassed didactic lectures, hands-on simulation models, and a networking luncheon with faculty, trainees, and industry partners. All attendees completed an anonymous, 5-point-Likert scaled survey pre- and post- attending the event to assess their awareness of IR as a specialty, understanding of the current training pathways, and level of interest.ResultsA total of 46 participants (M:F 60:40%, MS1–53%, MS2–36%, MS3–11%) attended the symposium. The cohort demonstrated increased interest in pursuing a career in IR following the symposium (4.12 vs 3.70, p<.001). Students with an interest in a non-surgical specialty showed an increased interest in IR (4.20 vs 3.68, p<.001), whereas surgically-oriented students did not demonstrate a significant increase (4.00 vs 3.71, p=0.375). No statistically significant differences were noted across gender or level of training. The symposium experience significantly increased understanding of the IR training pathways (4.51 vs 2.94, p<.001). Students rated lectures (57%) and endovascular simulators (41%) as the most useful experiences.ConclusionsThis study demonstrated the role of symposia in improving medical student awareness of IR and training pathways. Findings were validated across gender and training level, and identified the subset of students with nonsurgical interests as most responsive to such intervention and potential recruitment.



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