Large Language Model Use in Radiology Residency Applications: Unwelcomed but Inevitable.

Objective: This study explores radiology program directors' perspectives on the impact of large language model (LLM) use among residency applicants to craft personal statements.

Methods: Eight program directors from the Radiology Residency Education Research Alliance participated in a mixed-methods study, which included a survey regarding impressions of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated personal statements and focus group discussions (July 2023). Each director reviewed four personal statement variations for five applicants, anonymized to author type: the original and three Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer-4.

Status of LGBTQ+ Inclusion Using a Multi-Institution Assessment of US Radiology Residencies.

Introduction: An inclusive residency program is crucial to the recruitment and retention of competitive and diverse applicants. The radiology lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or another diverse gender identity (LGBTQ+) inclusion audit was published in 2022, which provided a road map for assessing the inclusivity of a program's policies, facilities, culture, and engagement. In this multi-institutional trial, we detail the results of the LGBTQ+ inclusion audit for nine US radiology residency programs.

Adjectives in the Summary Paragraph of the MSPE: Are They Telling Us Something?

Rationale And Objectives: Many US medical schools do not provide a summative, comparative assessment of students (class rank), instead utilizing descriptive adjectives in the summary paragraph of the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE). The objective of this study was to determine whether those adjectives correlate with student performance.

Materials And Methods: Applications from all US allopathic medical schools received by a single diagnostic radiology program in the 2023-24 cycle were reviewed.

Women in leadership matters: Achieving diversity in radiology residency recruitment.

Rationale And Objectives: To assess whether academic radiology departments and residency programs with efforts toward supporting and augmenting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) are associated with a higher proportion of residents from diverse backgrounds.

Materials And Methods: Program Directors within the Radiology Residency Education Research Alliance were surveyed to gather information about program characteristics, incorporation of diversity in resident recruitment, the sponsoring department's commitment to efforts at expanding diversity, and a summary of their current and past residents, staff and faculty members (academic years 2020 and 2023) with respect to a list of diversity characteristics.

Results: Survey response rate was 51 %.

The Influence of Extracurricular Activities on Radiology Resident Selection Decisions.

Purpose: Extracurricular activities (EAs) listed on radiology residency applications can signal traits and characteristics desired in holistic reviews. The authors conducted an objective analysis to determine the influence of EAs on resident selection decisions.

Methods: A discrete-choice experiment was designed to model radiology resident selection and determine the relative weights of EAs among academic and demographic application factors.

Medical student perspectives on radiology subspecialties prior to core clerkship.

Rationale And Objectives: Radiology remains underrepresented in U.S. medical school clinical curricula, and preconceived opinions about the field may impact whether students pursue elective exposure.

The Effects of Human Papillomavirus Status and Treatment on the Positive Predictive Value of Post-radiotherapy F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography in Advanced Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Aims: The high negative predictive value of post-chemoradiation (CRT) positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) is well established in head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCC). The positive predictive value (PPV) remains under scrutiny, with increasing evidence that it is affected by several factors. The aim of this study was to assess the PPV of post-treatment PET-CT for residual nodal disease when stratified by treatment modality and tumour human papillomavirus (HPV) status.

Unintended Consequence: Diversity as a Casualty of Eliminating United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 Scores.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use a discrete-choice experiment to model the trade-offs evaluators make between academic attributes and demographics when the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 switches to pass/fail.

Methods: A discrete-choice experiment was administered to faculty members from a geographically diverse mix of 14 academic and community radiology departments in the United States from August through November 2020. Reviewers reviewed 10 applicant pairs with numeric Step 1 scores (part 1) and 10 applicant pairs with a pass Step 1 result (part 2).

The Impact of the Dobbs Decision on Diagnostic Radiology Applicants, Residents, and Program Directors.

In the Dobbs decision the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the issue of abortion to the states. To date, there is little published data on the impact this might have on where future residents choose to pursue graduate medical education.

Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Education in Radiology: Multi-institutional Survey of Radiology Residents in the United States.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate radiology residents' perspectives regarding inclusion of artificial intelligence/ machine learning (AI/ML) education in the residency curriculum.

Materials And Methods: An online anonymous survey was sent to 759 residents at 21 US radiology residency programs. Resident demographics, sub-specialty interests, educational background and research experiences, as well as the awareness, availability, and usefulness of various resources for AI/ML education were collected.

An Elite Privilege: Top-Ranked Medical Schools Provide Fewer Comparative Performance Data on Their Students.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to determine differences in the reporting of performance data on medical student performance evaluations (MSPEs) by medical school ranking.

Methods: MSPEs from all US allopathic and osteopathic medical schools received by a single diagnostic radiology residency program during the 2021-2022 application cycle were retrospectively reviewed. Preclinical class and core clerkship grades were categorized as pass/fail or multitiered.

Patient and Radiologist Demographics Influence Perceptions of Screening Mammography Reports.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to test whether patient and radiologist demographics influence perceptions of screening mammography reports and the interpreting radiologist.

Methods: Patients presenting for breast imaging were surveyed. Demographics were collected, and each participant was shown five mock screening mammography reports with BI-RADS category 2 findings, each with a recommendation for 1-year screening.

Hidden Curriculum and the Demographic Stoicism That Keeps Women and Minorities Away From Radiology: A Mixed-Methods Study of Medical Students.

Objective: To understand how women and historically underrepresented minority medical students perceive radiology as a potential career choice.

Methods: Medical students representing a broad spectrum of radiology exposure from a single institution were invited to participate in a mixed-methods study. Participants completed a 16-item survey about demographics and perceptions of radiology.

Long term survival in patients with human papillomavirus-positive oropharyngeal cancer and equivocal response on 12-week PET-CT is not compromised by the omission of neck dissection.

Background And Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term safety of the omission of immediate neck dissections (IND) in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) achieving a less than complete nodal response on 12-week FDG PET-CT.

Material And Methods: Patients with HPV-positive, node-positive HNSCC that were treated with radical (chemo) radiotherapy (RT) between January 2013 and September 2019 were identified. PET-CT responses were classified as complete (CR), incomplete (ICR) or equivocal (EQR) nodal responses.

Should Radiology Residency Interviews Remain Virtual? Results of a Multi-institutional Survey Inform the Debate.

Rationale And Objectives: The recent completion of the inaugural virtual interview season has triggered calls for the permanency of virtual interviews in the radiology resident selection process. We designed a study to assess the inaugural 2020-2021 virtual interview season and inform the anticipated debate on the future of radiology residency interviews.

Materials And Methods: Forty-four and 39-question survey instruments developed for program directors (PDs) and applicants, respectively, were distributed through the Radiology Residency Education Research Alliance to measure the demographics, experiences with technology, attitudes toward the virtual interview season and attitudes about proposed changes to the interview process.

Radiology Stereotypes, Application Barriers, and Hospital Integration: A Mixed-methods Study of Medical Student Perceptions of Radiology.

Rationale And Objectives: Limited exposure to radiology by medical students can perpetuate negative stereotypes and hamper recruitment efforts. The purpose of this study is to understand medical students' perceptions of radiology and how they change based on medical education and exposure.

Materials And Methods: A single-institution mixed-methods study included four groups of medical students with different levels of radiology exposure.

Factors Influential in the Selection of Radiology Residents in the Post-Step 1 World: A Discrete Choice Experiment.

Objectives: Reporting of United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 results will transition from a numerical score to a pass or fail result. We sought an objective analysis to determine changes in the relative importance of resident application attributes when numerical Step 1 results are replaced.

Methods: A discrete choice experiment was designed to model radiology resident selection and determine the relative weights of various application factors when paired with a numerical or pass or fail Step 1 result.

Can the use of deception be justified in medical education research? A point/counterpoint and case study.

Deception is a common feature of behavioral research design, although not commonly employed in the medical literature. It can promote scientific validity but is ethically controversial because it compromises subject autonomy and incurs additional costs.  In this Point/Counterpoint monograph, we review the nature of deception in research and present arguments for and against its ethical use as a research methodology in behavioral studies.

You're Biased! Deal With It.

Widespread implementation of the Implicit Association Test has revealed that most doctors, and many radiologists, hold implicit racial bias. Because implicit bias is thought to drive discrimination, it has emerged as a primary explanation for radiology's ongoing racial disparity. In this critical review of the literature, which includes empirical studies of radiology resident selection, the authors argue that implicit bias is a universal human instinctual characteristic, but one that humans have the capacity to override through more deliberative thought processes.