OVERVIEW
MI-RADS is a University of British Columbia Department of Radiology Mentorship initiative to promote interest in diagnostic radiology and radiology subspecialties among female medical students.
RATIONALE
While in 2019 female medical students represented approximately 54.9% of current Canadian medical school graduates, female staff physicians remained only 31.6% of diagnostic radiologists [1-3]. In certain radiology subspecialties the representation of female staff physicians is even lower, with female staff physicians remaining only 10.6% of interventional radiologists [4].
The number of female medical students applying to diagnostic radiology post-graduate medical education programs remains disproportionately low [5,6]. Early exposure to diagnostic radiology and mentorship of medical students have been identified as potential initiatives to increase application to diagnostic radiology, particularly among groups of medical students who have been historically underrepresented in the specialty [1,7].
OBJECTIVES
MI-RADS was founded with the following objectives:
① To promote diagnostic radiology and radiology subspecialties among medical students
② To increase interest and application in diagnostic radiology and subsequently radiology subspecialties among medical students, with particular emphasis on increasing interest and application among female medical students
③ To foster a community of support among female medical students seeking to pursue a career in diagnostic radiology or radiology subspecialties.
LEADERSHIP
Resident Physicians
Dr. Ali Silver, PGY-4
Dr. Helena Bentley, PGY-3
Faculty
Dr. Talia Vertinsky, Clinical Associate Professor
Dr. Kathryn Darras, Clinical Associate Professor
KEY INITIATIVES
Key initiatives of MI-RADS include flash mentoring sessions, mentorship pods, and networking and social events.
Flash Mentoring Sessions
Flash mentoring emphasizes short mentorship sessions during which mentors are paired with an individual or group of mentees.
Mentor bios are provided to mentees ahead of the session and mentees may request which mentor sessions would be of greatest interest to them in which to participate.
Flash mentoring sessions may also be accompanied by additional presentations delivered ahead of dedicated flash mentoring sessions, which may provide mentees with extra information on diagnostic radiology and radiology subspecialties.
There are many benefits to the delivery of flash mentoring sessions:
① Speed: Information is shared quickly and mentees have the ability to apply advice immediately;
② Time Constraints: Limited time commitment is required as compared with traditional mentoring, which encourages greater participation among both mentors and mentees; and,
③ Impact: Tangible information is provided to mentees while conserving resources and allowing information to be conveyed to a larger number of mentees
During the inaugural MI-RADS virtual open house on May 10th, 2022 approximately 75 medical students from across the country participated. Two flash mentoring sessions were held at the end of the open house, with mentees being able to switch mentors between sessions.
Mentorship PODS
A pod is a MI-RADS mentorship group, which is comprised of 3 to 5 medical student mentees, 2 radiology residents, and 1 radiology staff. Pods are resident-led and staff supervised.
MI-RADS pods launched in Summer 2022, with 28 medical student mentees participating from the University of British Columbia across 4 distributed sites.
Networking & Social Events
MI-RADS will welcome medical student mentees from the Vancouver Fraser medical program to its first networking and social event during the Fall 2022 semester. The event shall be anticipated to be held outdoors.
OUTCOME MEASURES
MI-RADS is committed to tangibly achieving its objectives. Over the next 3 years, MI-RADS will collate application data from medical student mentees and the University of British Columbia diagnostic radiology post-graduate medical education program.
SPONSORS
We thank Vancouver Imaging for their generous ongoing support of MI-RADS.
We thank FUJI FILM Canada for their generous support of the MI-RADS virtual open house on May 10th, 2022.
REFERENCES
[1] Adham S et al. Analysis of Gender Disparity in US and Canadian Radiology Residency Programs. Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology (2021): 1-4
[2] Alkhawtan RHM et al. Gender diversity among editorial boards of radiology-related journals. Clinical Imaging. 75 (2021): 30-33.
[3] Bucknor MD et al. Diversity and inclusion efforts in University of California, San Francisco Radiology: reflections on 3 years of pipeline, selection, and education initiatives. Journal of the American College of Radiology. 2019; 16(12): 1716-1719.
[4] Chapman CH et al. Current status of diversity by race, Hispanic ethnicity, and sex in diagnostic radiology. Radiology. 2014; 270(1): 232-240.
[5] Grimm LJ et al. Men (and women) in academic radiology: how can we reduce the gender discrepancy?. American Journal of Roentgenology. 2016; 206(4): 678-680.
[6] Joshi A et al. Female representation on radiology journal editorial boards around the world: geographical differences and temporal trends. Academic Radiology. (2020): 1-8.
[7] Lightfoote JB et al. Improving diversity, inclusion, and representation in radiology and radiation oncology part 1: why these matter. Journal of the American College of Radiology. 2014; 11(7): 673-680.