Preparing radiology residents for breast MRI: A dual-site, resident-as-teacher feasibility project.

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the impact of a faculty-mentored, resident-as-teacher theoretical-practical breast MRI (B-MRI) course on the reporting completeness and accuracy of "trainee" radiology residents (RRs) with basic or no experience in conventional breast imaging (CBI) and the personal skills and critical thinking of experienced, "teacher" RRs.

Methods: Six teacher-RRs from the Udine University residency program (URP) preliminarily selected and reported 55 B-MRI cases under faculty supervision. Twelve trainee-RRs (six from Udine URP and six from Vienna URP, with basic and no experience in CBI, respectively) underwent seven days of self-study on selected material, followed by a pre-training reporting test (pre-TRT) on 15 of the 55 B-MRI cases. Then, trainee-RRs attended a two-hour teaching session and reviewed the remaining 40 B-MRI cases supervised by teacher-RRs, followed by two post-training tests reporting the same pre-TRT cases, held immediately and 30 days later. We evaluated the trainee-RRs' reporting completeness and accuracy based on descriptors from the teacher-RRs' reports and assessed the teacher-RRs' self-evaluated personal skills and critical thinking through a 25-item questionnaire (Wilcoxon signed ranks test).

Results: Trainee-RRs showed significant post-course improvements in report completeness and accuracy, with Udine-trainee-RRs maintaining their progress and Vienna-trainee-RRs declining after 30 days. Index lesion metrics improved post-training but significantly declined over time. Teacher-RRs self-reported increased personal skills and critical thinking.

Conclusion: After attending the course, trainee-RRs from two URPs exhibited significantly higher completeness and accuracy in B-MRI reporting, particularly those with basic experience in CBI. Teacher-RRs perceived significant improvements in personal skills and critical thinking.