Medical Student Electives - Diagnostic Radiology
Rotation Director: Roger Klein, MD
Duration: Two to four weeks
Maximum number of students per four-week period: Four
Candidates: Senior students of approved allopathic and osteopathic medical schools
Introduction:
The radiology rotation is offered as an introduction to the role of diagnostic imaging in the provision of patient care. Dramatic advances in imaging technology in the past 30 years have created a pivotal role for radiology in both the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Since all branches of medicine to some degree rely on diagnostic imaging, it is valuable for the medical student to understand the fundamentals of imaging, including indications for various examinations, the strength and weaknesses of various imaging modalities and the appropriate use of imaging in various clinical situations.
Goals and Objectives:
The primary goal is to provide the medical student with a basic familiarity of the production and interpretation of diagnostic images. The emphasis will be on the modalities most commonly used in everyday clinical practice. These include plain radiographs, fluoroscopy, CT scans, ultrasound, MRI and image-guided procedures and angiography.
- Plain radiographs - to understand the technical aspects of obtaining plain radiographs and the basics of interpretation, with emphasis on the most commonly ordered studies, i.e. chest x-rays, abdomen films and bone radiographs
- Fluoscoscopy - to observe fluoroscopy and understand the indications for, and technical factors involved, with obtaining common fluoroscopic studies, i.e. barium enema, UGI and small bowel studies, etc.
- Body/Thoracic Imaging - to understand the fundamentals of obtaining CT images and gain an understanding of the appropriate indications for various studies
- Ultrasound - to observe how ultrasound images are obtained and become familiar with the strength and limitations of ultrasound in diverse clinical settings
- MRI - to understand the basic physical principles of MRI and the indications for various studies
- Angiography - to observe various angiographic procedures and understand the indications for various examinations along with the risks inherent in various procedures
Methods:
Students will be expected to attend the various conferences and didactic lectures provided by the department.
Students may also attend conferences provided outside the department by other clinical specialties. There will be a pre-test and post-test to document learning. The student will also be required to prepare and present a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation on an agreed topic.
The department has extensive educational materials available to students. These include the ACR teaching file, videotapes, CD ROMs and various books and journals. The student will be free to make use of these at appropriate times during the day, with permission from his/her mentor or the staff physician in charge of the section at the time. Any educational material must be signed out in the coordinator’s office.
Students will be required to sign in daily so there is no question of attendance. Dr. Roger Klein will complete all evaluations at the end of the rotation. If upon review of sign-in sheets, it is determined that a student did not spend enough time in radiology, no evaluation will be completed. Students will also be asked to fill out an evaluation of their experience in the department at the end of the rotation.
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