‘Moderate’ satisfaction with interventional radiology training – survey

A “first-of-its-kind” national survey of interventional radiology (IR) trainees suggests an “overall moderate level of satisfaction” with training.

However, “several key areas” for improvement have been identified, according to the paper published in the February edition of the Irish Medical Journal. 

These include the need for greater training opportunities in vascular IR, interventional oncology, paediatric IR, and stroke thrombectomy.

“Trainees may also benefit from greater involvement with IR ward admissions and rounds, IR clinics and multidisciplinary and morbidity and mortality meetings at their respective training sites,” stated the paper.

The survey also noted that females remain underrepresented in IR “for a multitude of reasons”.

Lifestyle concerns, radiation exposure, and lack of female mentors were identified as factors that contributed to gender imbalance.

“The quality of IR training in Ireland may be improved by addressing these discrepancies and inequalities across the various training regions. Future surveys will be required to monitor progress.”

The paper described IR as a rapidly evolving specialty with increasing global demand.

“While IR training satisfaction in Ireland is moderate, several actionable improvements have been identified to optimise training nationwide.”

The authors, based in University Hospital Galway and University College Dublin, noted that the survey had a number of limitations.

The main limitation was the low response rate, while female trainees were underrepresented and less-than-full-time trainees were not represented in this survey.

Last month, the Medical Independent reported that the HSE National Clinical Programme for Interventional Radiology published Ireland’s first national model of care for IR.