Early and Increased Training in Veterinary Radiology Increases Student Interest in the Specialty But May Provide Little Short-Term Gain in Radiology Knowledge.

There is a lack of consensus among educators regarding the ideal structure of radiology training in veterinary medicine. Research in the medical field suggests that early integration has positive short- and long-term impacts on student interest in radiology. This study evaluated the effect of a new radiology course in the first year of the veterinary curriculum. Authors hypothesized that students taught radiology in years 1 and 2 would have greater interest in and appreciation for the specialty of radiology and would perform better on tests of basic knowledge of medical imaging principles, entry-level image interpretation, and anatomy identification than students who were not taught until year 2. An online questionnaire was administered to different classes of students after completion of their radiology courses. Students with early and increased radiology training were significantly more likely to respond that radiology was more interesting than other veterinary specialties. Unexpectedly, students with early and increased training performed significantly better than students with less and later training on only one out of nine content knowledge questions, though they did perform significantly better on additional knowledge questions compared to students with only early exposure. This suggests early and increased training in radiology may increase student interest in and appreciation for the specialty, but may not lead to increased short-term knowledge retention compared to a traditional curriculum format.

Survey of veterinary specialists regarding their knowledge of radiation safety and the availability of radiation safety training.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the knowledge of various veterinary specialists regarding various radiation safety matters and determine the availability of radiation safety training. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SAMPLE 164 radiology, 81 internal medicine, and 108 emergency and critical care (ECC) specialists. PROCEDURES An online survey was developed regarding knowledge of and training in radiation safety, and invitations were sent via email through the email lists of the veterinary internal medicine, ECC, and radiology specialty colleges. Responses were summarized, and comparisons were made between radiologists and internal medicine and ECC clinicians. RESULTS 65.5% (38 /58) of respondents from academic institutions and 30.0% (33/110) of respondents from private practices indicated that radiation safety training was mandatory at their institution for personnel who work with ionizing radiation-emitting equipment, and 80.2% (85/106) and 56.6% (77/136), respectively, had received some radiation safety training. Low proportions of radiologists and internal medicine and ECC clinicians correctly identified the effective dose of ionizing radiation associated with 3-phase esophagography and 3-phase abdominal CT. Many radiologists (92/153 [60.1%]) and nonradiologists (92/179 [51.4%]) believed that the effective doses used in veterinary practice pose no increased risk of fatal cancer to their patients. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Radiation safety training, although more common in academia, was not universally available and may not meet radiography equipment license requirements for some institutions. Most radiologists, internal medicine clinicians, and ECC clinicians had a poor understanding of the amount of ionizing radiation associated with medical imaging procedures and the potential hazards to their patients.