Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Radiol. Nov 28, 2021; 13(11): 354-370
Published online Nov 28, 2021. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v13.i11.354
Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on radiology education, training, and practice: A narrative review
Md Anwarul Azim Majumder, Uma Gaur, Keerti Singh, Latha Kandamaran, Subir Gupta, Mainul Haque, Sayeeda Rahman, Bidyadhar Sa, Mizanur Rahman, Fidel Rampersad
Md Anwarul Azim Majumder, Uma Gaur, Keerti Singh, Latha Kandamaran, Subir Gupta, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Cave Hill BB23034, Barbados
Mainul Haque, Unit of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (National Defence University of Malaysia), Kem Perdana Sugai Besi, Kuala Lumpur 57000, Malaysia
Sayeeda Rahman, School of Medicine, American University of Integrative Sciences (AUIS), Bridgetown BB11318, Barbados
Bidyadhar Sa, Fidel Rampersad, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus, St Augustine 33178, Trinidad and Tobago
Mizanur Rahman, Principal's Office, International Medical College, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
Author contributions: Majumder MAA conducted an extensive literature review and outlined a plan for the review; all the authors contributed to the first draft of this manuscript, and review of the draft and final version of this manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest for this work.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Md Anwarul Azim Majumder, MBBS, PhD, Director of Medical Education, Faculty of Medical Sciences, The University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Cave Hill Road, Cave Hill BB23034, Barbados. azim.majumder@cavehill.uwi.edu
Received: May 30, 2021
Peer-review started: May 30, 2021
First decision: July 31, 2021
Revised: August 26, 2021
Accepted: October 25, 2021
Article in press: October 27, 2021
Published online: November 28, 2021
Processing time: 178 Days and 2.6 Hours
Abstract

Radiology education and training is of paramount clinical importance given the prominence of medical imaging utilization in effective clinical practice. The incorporation of basic radiology in the medical curriculum has continued to evolve, focusing on teaching image interpretation skills, the appropriate ordering of radiological investigations, judicious use of ionizing radiation, and providing exposure to interventional radiology. Advancements in radiology have been driven by the digital revolution, which has, in turn, had a positive impact on radiology education and training. Upon the advent of the corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, many training institutions and hospitals adhered to directives which advised rescheduling of non-urgent outpatient appointments. This inevitably impacted the workflow of the radiology department, which resulted in the reduction of clinical in-person case reviews and consultations, as well as in-person teaching sessions. Several medical schools and research centers completely suspended face-to-face academic activity. This led to challenges for medical teachers to complete the radiology syllabus while ensuring that teaching activities continued safely and effectively. As a result, online teaching platforms have virtually replaced didactic face-to-face lectures. Radiology educators also sought other strategies to incorporate interactive teaching sessions while adopting the e-learning approach, as they were cognizant of the limitations that this may have on students’ clinical expertise. Migration to online methods to review live cases, journal clubs, simulation-based training, clinical interaction, and radiology examination protocolling are a few examples of successfully addressing the limitations in reduced clinical exposure. In this review paper, we discuss (1) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on radiology education, training, and practice; (2) Challenges and strategies involved in delivering online radiology education for undergraduates and postgraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic; and (3) Difference between the implementation of radiology education during the COVID-19 pandemic and pre-COVID-19 era.

Keywords: Radiology; Education; Training; Practice; COVID-19 pandemic; Impact

Core Tip: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on radiology education. Even before the pandemic, educators often encountered many difficulties in delivering the radiology curriculum. During the pandemic, there was an almost complete transition of radiology education to a blended online platform. Many hiccups in implementing online teaching were reported, such as suitable hardware/software, reliable internet connection, innovative and interactive teaching methods and contents, and meaningful participation and interaction of the students. However, despite many challenges and restrictions, the current pandemic revealed opportunities for radiology educators and students to apply the technological acumen and wisdom they gained by teaching and learning remotely.