Advertisement
Medical Student Education| Volume 22, ISSUE 4, P520-526, April 2015

Interpretive Versus Noninterpretive Content in Top-Selling Radiology Textbooks

What Are We Teaching Medical Students?
Published:January 16, 2015DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acra.2014.11.005
Interpretive Versus Noninterpretive Content in Top-Selling Radiology Textbooks
Previous ArticleNoncontrast MRA of Pedal Arteries in Type II Diabetes
Next ArticleHow I Do It

      Rationale and Objectives

      There are little data as to whether appropriate, cost effective, and safe ordering of imaging examinations are adequately taught in US medical school curricula. We sought to determine the proportion of noninterpretive content (such as appropriate ordering) versus interpretive content (such as reading a chest x-ray) in the top-selling medical student radiology textbooks.

      Materials and Methods

      We performed an online search to identify a ranked list of the six top-selling general radiology textbooks for medical students. Each textbook was reviewed including content in the text, tables, images, figures, appendices, practice questions, question explanations, and glossaries. Individual pages of text and individual images were semiquantitatively scored on a six-level scale as to the percentage of material that was interpretive versus noninterpretive. The predominant imaging modality addressed in each was also recorded. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed.

      Results

      All six books had more interpretive content. On average, 1.4 pages of text focused on interpretation for every one page focused on noninterpretive content. Seventeen images/figures were dedicated to interpretive skills for every one focused on noninterpretive skills. In all books, the largest proportion of text and image content was dedicated to plain films (51.2%), with computed tomography (CT) a distant second (16%). The content on radiographs (3.1:1) and CT (1.6:1) was more interpretive than not.

      Conclusions

      The current six top-selling medical student radiology textbooks contain a preponderance of material teaching image interpretation compared to material teaching noninterpretive skills, such as appropriate imaging examination selection, rational utilization, and patient safety.

      Key Words

      To read this article in full you will need to make a payment

      Purchase one-time access:

      Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online access
      One-time access price info
      • For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
      • For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'

      Subscribe:

      Subscribe to Academic Radiology
      Already a print subscriber? Claim online access
      Already an online subscriber? Sign in
      Register: Create an account
      Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect

      References

      1. Choosing Wisely. Available at: http://www.choosingwisely.org/doctor-patient-lists/american-college-of-radiology/. Accessed May 1, 2013.

        View in Article

      2. Image Gently. Available at: http://www.imagegently.org/. Accessed June 28, 2014.

        View in Article

      3. ACR Appropriateness Criteria. Available at: http://www.acr.org/quality-safety/appropriateness-criteria

        View in Article
        • Dillon J.E.
        • Slanetz P.J.
        Teaching evidence-based imaging in the radiology clerkship using the ACR appropriateness criteria.
        Acad Radiol. 2010; 17: 912-916
        View in Article
        • Straus C.M.
        • Webb E.M.
        • Kondo K.L.
        • et al.
        Medical student radiology education: summary and recommendations from a national survey of medical school and radiology department leadership.
        J Am Coll Radiol. 2014; 11: 606-610
        View in Article

      6. Liaison Committee on Medical Education ED 17. Available at: http://www.lcme.org/connections/connections_2013-2014/ED-17_2013-2014.htm. Accessed June 20, 2014.

        View in Article
        • Naeger D.M.
        • Phelps A.
        • Kohi M.
        • et al.
        Reading room electives: say goodbye to the “radi-holiday”.
        J Am Coll Radiol. 2013; 10: 442-448
        View in Article

      8. Results and Data: 2012 Main Residency Match. Available at: http://www.nrmp.org/data/index.html. Accessed March 8, 2013.

        View in Article
        • Nadgir R.
        • Slanetz P.J.
        Integrating evidence-based imaging into the radiology core clerkship: a proposed teaching tool of imaging strategies.
        J Am Coll Radiol. 2010; 7: 517-521
        View in Article

      10. AMSER National Medical Student Curriculum in Radiology. Available at: https://www.aur.org/Secondary-Alliances.aspx?id=141. Accessed June 20, 2014.

        View in Article

      11. Amazon. Available at: http://amazon.com/. Accessed January 2, 2014.

        View in Article

      12. Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Book Store Sales Numbers Annual Update. Available at: http://www.fonerbooks.com/booksale.htm

        View in Article

      13. Harvard Library: “Where can I find detailed book sales figures or statistics?” Available at: http://asklib.hcl.harvard.edu/a.php?qid=50305

        View in Article
        • Prezzia C.
        • Vorona G.
        • Greenspan R.
        Fourth-year medical student opinions and basic knowledge regarding the field of radiology.
        Acad Radiol. 2013; 20: 272-283
        View in Article
        • Halvorsen J.G.
        • Kunian A.
        Radiology in family practice: experience in community practice.
        Fam Med. 1988; 20: 112-117
        View in Article
        • Halvorsen J.G.
        • Kunian A.
        Radiology in family practice: a prospective study of 14 community practices.
        Fam Med. 1990; 22: 112-117
        View in Article
        • Subramaniam R.M.
        • Sherriff J.
        • Holmes K.
        • et al.
        Radiology curriculum for medical students: clinicians' perspectives.
        Australas Radiol. 2006; 50: 442-446
        View in Article
        • Subramaniam R.M.
        • Beckley V.
        • Chan M.
        • et al.
        Radiology curriculum topics for medical students: students' perspectives.
        Acad Radiol. 2006; 13: 880-884
        View in Article
        • Kondo K.L.
        • Swerdlow M.
        Medical student radiology curriculum: what skills do residency program directors believe are essential for medical students to attain?.
        Acad Radiol. 2013; 20: 263-271
        View in Article
        • Jeffrey D.R.
        • Goddard P.R.
        • Callaway M.P.
        • et al.
        Chest radiograph interpretation by medical students.
        Clin Radiol. 2003; 58: 478-481
        View in Article
        • Paakkala T.
        Training of general practitioners in interpreting chest radiographs.
        Med Educ. 1988; 22: 449-453
        View in Article
        • Kang M.J.
        • Sim M.S.
        • Shin T.G.
        • et al.
        Evaluating the accuracy of emergency medicine resident interpretations of abdominal CTs in patients with non-traumatic abdominal pain.
        J Korean Med Sci. 2012; 27: 1255-1260
        View in Article
        • Arhami Dolatabadi A.
        • Baratloo A.
        • Rouhipour A.
        • et al.
        Interpretation of computed tomography of the head: emergency physicians versus radiologists.
        Trauma Mon. 2013; 18: 86-89
        View in Article

      24. OECD.StatExtracts. Available at: http://stats.oecd.org/index.aspx?DataSetCode=HEALTH_STAT. Accessed July 15, 2014.

        View in Article
        • Lehnert B.E.
        • Bree R.L.
        Analysis of appropriateness of outpatient CT and MRI referred from primary care clinics at an academic medical center: how critical is the need for improved decision support?.
        J Am Coll Radiol. 2010; 7: 192-197
        View in Article
        • Sistrom C.L.
        • Dang P.A.
        • Weilburg J.B.
        • et al.
        Effect of computerized order entry with integrated decision support on the growth of outpatient procedure volumes: seven-year time series analysis.
        Radiology. 2009; 251: 147-155
        View in Article
        • Ip I.K.
        • Schneider L.I.
        • Hanson R.
        • et al.
        Adoption and meaningful use of computerized physician order entry with an integrated clinical decision support system for radiology: ten-year analysis in an urban teaching hospital.
        J Am Coll Radiol. 2012; 9: 129-136
        View in Article
        • Naeger D.M.
        • Webb E.M.
        • Zimmerman L.
        • et al.
        Strategies for incorporating radiology into early medical school curricula.
        J Am Coll Radiol. 2014; 11: 74-79
        View in Article

      29. CORE Radiology Course. Available at: http://www.med-u.org/core. Accessed October 19, 2014.

        View in Article

      Article info

      Publication history

      Published online: January 16, 2015
      Accepted: November 4, 2014
      Received: July 22, 2014

      Identification

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acra.2014.11.005

      Copyright

      © 2015 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

      ScienceDirect

      Access this article on ScienceDirect
      We use cookies to help provide and enhance our service and tailor content. To update your cookie settings, please visit the for this site.
      Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. except certain content provided by third parties. The content on this site is intended for healthcare professionals.


      RELX