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UPDATE ON NATIONAL RESIDENT RELATED ISSUES
AFIP
Senator Edward Kennedy’s (D-MA) planned amendment to the Defense
Department Reauthorization bill was forestalled after the Defense bill
was tabled amid disagreement for withdrawing troops from Iraq. The
planned amendment would have required the Department of Defense to
maintain core functions of the AFIP in a newly-created Joint Pathology
Center to be located at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda,
Maryland. Similar language was included in the House-passed version of
the Defense Reauthorization bill.
It is expected that the
Defense Reauthorization Bill will be brought back to the Senate floor
following the August recess. Should that happen, members of the Resident
& Fellow Section (RFS) will again be called upon to voice their support
for AFIP.
Oral Boards
The April meeting of the Association of the University of Radiologists
brought about discussions on the timing of the oral boards. During this
meeting, the Society of Chairmen in Academic Radiology Departments
nearly unanimously decided to support delay of the oral board exam until
two years after residency is completed. The RFS drafted and proposed a
resolution asking the ACR to develop a task force to investigate the
potential impact of changing the timing of the oral board exam on
residents, recent residency graduates, private practices, academic
practices, and the job market. The resolution was discussed, supported,
and approved by the ACR council. Since the June meeting of the American
Board of Radiology, no changes have been implemented regarding the
structure or timing of the oral board examination. The ABR recognizes
that issues related to the timing of the oral board exam are very
complex, and time is required in order to make and implement any
recommendations for change.
Radiology residency
curriculum
At the ACR’s 84th Annual Meeting and Chapter Leadership Conference, Dr.
N. Reed Dunnick, incoming chair of the American Board of Radiology met
with the RFS to discuss proposed changes to the structure of radiology
residency training. Dr. Dunnick (and the Intersociety Conference)
believes that the field of radiology is becoming increasing
subspecialized and more relevant and integrated clinical training is
required. The proposal would eliminate the traditional internship year
and replace it with a 3 year “core” radiology curriculum followed by a 3
year fellowship in radiological and clinical training where trainees
would specialize in 1-4 areas of radiology. The idea is in an early
phase and it will be interesting to see if and how it develops.
MRI teaching file
In response to resident feedback that expressed dissatisfaction with
training in MRI, the RFS created a teaching file of MRI cases. That
teaching file went live in June and is available at
http://mri.acr.org Further
contributions to the teaching file are welcome, and the RFS will pay for
cases, so encourage residents in your program to contribute.
RRC changes for
Radiology Residency programs to take effect 2007-2008
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No independent
overnight call in the first year. First-year radiology residents
will not be able to take overnight calls alone during their
first-year. All studies read overnight by a first year must be
overread before patient care occurs. The change takes effect in July
2008.
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Didactic teaching and
lecture series. Programs are required to have at least five
hours of didactic teaching each week, with dedicated protected time
for residents to attend such lectures. A core didactic lecture
series is now required, which must include all nine subspecialties,
and the series must be repeated every two years.
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Nuclear medicine
requirement changes. New requirements include at least 700 hours
of clinical nuclear medicine incorporating 80 hours of didactic
instruction. Participation in three I-131 therapies must be
documented.
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Case logs.
Increased attention to case logging will take effect in July 2008.
This is separate from procedure logs. The logging system will
require a certain number and type of case to be seen/dictated by
each resident and submitted to the ACGME each year by the program
director.
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Research requirements
implemented. Residents must be part of a research or critical
thinking project within their four years of radiology training. The
project also must be published or presented during those four years.
LOCAL UPDATE
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The RFS-RSNJ website is
being updated with current information on residency related issues
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We are again updating
our database of residents in New Jersey with the new class that
started in July, and will reach out to them with an introduction to
the RFS and the RSNJ.
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