| Characteristic | N = 1941 |
|---|---|
| Geographic region | |
| Middle Atlantic | 40 (21%) |
| East North Central | 32 (16%) |
| South Atlantic | 30 (15%) |
| Pacific | 24 (12%) |
| West South Central | 20 (10%) |
| New England | 20 (10%) |
| West North Central | 11 (5.7%) |
| East South Central | 10 (5.2%) |
| Mountain | 7 (3.6%) |
| Setting | |
| Urban | 127 (65%) |
| Suburban | 65 (34%) |
| Rural | 2 (1.0%) |
| Program size per class | 6.0 (4.0, 8.0) |
| Program type | |
| University | 98 (51%) |
| Hybrid | 65 (34%) |
| Community | 21 (11%) |
| Military | 7 (3.6%) |
| Other | 3 (1.5%) |
| Research track | 36 (19%) |
| Education track | 26 (13%) |
| Management and leadership track | 13 (6.7%) |
| Informatics track | 19 (9.8%) |
| Elective rotations (blocks/months) | 6.0 (3.0, 8.0) |
| Unknown | 95 |
| Resident fellowships | 94 (48%) |
| 1 n (%); Median (IQR) | |
Resident tracks - Are we preparing the radiologists of the future
Statistical analysis
Categorical variables were summarized as counts and percentages, and compared using the chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test, as appropriate. Continuous variables were summarized as medians and interquartile ranges, and compared using the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test. A two-sided p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. All analyses were performed using R (version 4.3.1; R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria).
Overall analysis
Track-specific analysis
There are 36 programs with a research track, 26 with an education track, 13 with a management and leadership track, and 19 with an informatics track.
| Characteristic | Research, N = 361 | Education, N = 261 | Management/Leadership, N = 131 | Informatics, N = 191 | p-value2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geographic region | >0.9 | ||||
| Middle Atlantic | 5 (14%) | 1 (3.8%) | 1 (7.7%) | 3 (16%) | |
| East North Central | 8 (22%) | 8 (31%) | 6 (46%) | 5 (26%) | |
| South Atlantic | 6 (17%) | 5 (19%) | 2 (15%) | 4 (21%) | |
| Pacific | 3 (8.3%) | 2 (7.7%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (11%) | |
| West South Central | 2 (5.6%) | 3 (12%) | 1 (7.7%) | 1 (5.3%) | |
| New England | 5 (14%) | 4 (15%) | 2 (15%) | 1 (5.3%) | |
| West North Central | 3 (8.3%) | 1 (3.8%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | |
| East South Central | 2 (5.6%) | 2 (7.7%) | 1 (7.7%) | 2 (11%) | |
| Mountain | 2 (5.6%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (5.3%) | |
| Setting | 0.6 | ||||
| Urban | 28 (78%) | 20 (77%) | 12 (92%) | 17 (89%) | |
| Suburban | 8 (22%) | 5 (19%) | 1 (7.7%) | 2 (11%) | |
| Rural | 0 (0%) | 1 (3.8%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Program size per class | 9.0 (8.0, 11.0) | 8.5 (7.0, 10.0) | 9.0 (8.0, 11.0) | 9.0 (8.0, 11.0) | 0.7 |
| Program type | >0.9 | ||||
| University | 31 (86%) | 22 (85%) | 11 (85%) | 15 (79%) | |
| Hybrid | 3 (8.3%) | 4 (15%) | 2 (15%) | 3 (16%) | |
| Community | 1 (2.8%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (5.3%) | |
| Military | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Other | 1 (2.8%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Dedicated curriculum | 10 (33%) | 19 (95%) | 8 (100%) | 15 (100%) | <0.001 |
| Unknown | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | |
| Elective rotations (blocks/months) | 9.00 (5.63, 9.81) | 8.00 (6.00, 9.75) | 8.50 (6.50, 9.00) | 8.00 (5.00, 9.00) | >0.9 |
| Unknown | 20 | 13 | 7 | 10 | |
| Resident fellowships | 23 (64%) | 17 (65%) | 7 (54%) | 12 (63%) | >0.9 |
| 1 n (%); Median (IQR) | |||||
| 2 Fisher’s exact test; Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test | |||||
Pathway-specific analysis
| Characteristic | Nuclear Medicine, N = 481 | Pediatric, N = 141 | ESIR, N = 1311 | p-value2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geographic region | ||||
| Middle Atlantic | 11 (23%) | 3 (21%) | 29 (22%) | |
| East North Central | 8 (17%) | 5 (36%) | 23 (18%) | |
| South Atlantic | 8 (17%) | 3 (21%) | 18 (14%) | |
| Pacific | 5 (10%) | 0 (0%) | 12 (9.2%) | |
| West South Central | 2 (4.2%) | 0 (0%) | 14 (11%) | |
| New England | 6 (13%) | 0 (0%) | 13 (9.9%) | |
| West North Central | 2 (4.2%) | 2 (14%) | 9 (6.9%) | |
| East South Central | 4 (8.3%) | 1 (7.1%) | 8 (6.1%) | |
| Mountain | 2 (4.2%) | 0 (0%) | 5 (3.8%) | |
| Setting | 0.6 | |||
| Urban | 30 (63%) | 8 (57%) | 89 (68%) | |
| Suburban | 16 (33%) | 6 (43%) | 40 (31%) | |
| Rural | 2 (4.2%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (1.5%) | |
| Program size per class | 8.0 (6.8, 9.3) | 9.0 (8.0, 10.0) | 6.5 (5.0, 8.0) | <0.001 |
| Program type | 0.14 | |||
| University | 38 (79%) | 11 (79%) | 76 (58%) | |
| Hybrid | 6 (13%) | 3 (21%) | 40 (31%) | |
| Community | 3 (6.3%) | 0 (0%) | 12 (9.2%) | |
| Military | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | |
| Other | 1 (2.1%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (2.3%) | |
| Research track | 26 (54%) | 9 (64%) | 33 (25%) | <0.001 |
| Education track | 17 (35%) | 4 (29%) | 24 (18%) | 0.048 |
| Management and leadership track | 9 (19%) | 2 (14%) | 13 (9.9%) | 0.2 |
| Informatics track | 12 (25%) | 3 (21%) | 18 (14%) | 0.2 |
| Elective rotations (blocks/months) | 9.0 (4.3, 10.0) | 5.0 (4.0, 9.5) | 6.0 (4.0, 9.0) | 0.2 |
| Unknown | 25 | 5 | 60 | |
| Resident fellowships | 28 (58%) | 10 (71%) | 74 (56%) | 0.6 |
| 1 n (%); Median (IQR) | ||||
| 2 Fisher’s exact test; Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test; Pearson’s Chi-squared test | ||||