Educational perspective

Transitioning to a New Residency Curriculum

Self-examination

Self-examination is crucial. To adapt successfully, we must first know our own program. What are its strengths? What are its weaknesses? This applies not only to residents’ experiences but also to the composition and interests of the faculty. Where do residents perform particularly well? Where do they struggle? In part, we can look at performance on the American College of Radiology in-training exams and the American Board of Radiology exams, but test scores alone do not fully capture what

Analyzing the old curriculum

The building blocks of the new curriculum deserve careful scrutiny. What can each rotation contribute to the residents’ education, in terms of both preparing for the new core examination and helping them become good radiologists? If rotations are not pulling their weight in this respect, they may need to play a diminished role.

Historical precedent is less important than a vision for the future. If a particular rotation has marginal or no educational value, then serious consideration should be

Building a new curriculum

Self-examination and analysis permit the construction of a new curriculum that both meets generic requirements and accurately reflects the needs and strengths of each particular program. A grid needs to be created, showing the number and timing of different rotations and the numbers of residents available each month. Filling in such a grid entails sometimes difficult choices, which in some programs include not only different rotations but multiple facilities. What do residents need to

Residents first

The new curriculum is driving a shift in many departments’ priorities, increasing the focus on residents’ educational needs at the expense of clinical service coverage needs. The tighter time line means that, from an educational point of view, no months can be “wasted.” Ensuring that residents in the first 3 years rotate according to their prescribed schedules is vital if they are to succeed on the core exam, which not only occurs a full year sooner than the traditional oral exam but also

Conclusions

The quality of the new residency curriculum each institution produces reflects the amount and quality of time and energy we devote to planning for the transition. If time and personnel constraints lead us to devote as few resources as possible, residents, faculty members, and departments—not to say patients and referring health professionals—are likely to suffer. On the other hand, if we thoroughly understand what we need to do, what resources, strengths, and weaknesses we bring to the process,