Senior medical students’ awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations

Background: Senior medical students represent future physicians who commonly refer patients for diagnostic imaging studies that may involve ionizing radiation. The radiology curriculum at the University of British Columbia provides students with broad-based knowledge about common imaging examination...

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Autores principales:	Elena Scali, John Mayo, Savvas Nicolaou, Michael Kozoriz, Silvia Chang
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Canadian Medical Education Journal 2017
Materias:	Radiation risks medical education medical students Education (General) L7-991 Medicine (General) R5-920
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/56f7b87e84894c3b8368fd76ea4d38c4
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:56f7b87e84894c3b8368fd76ea4d38c42021-12-03T17:53:37ZSenior medical students’ awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations10.36834/cmej.368741923-1202https://doaj.org/article/56f7b87e84894c3b8368fd76ea4d38c42017-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/cmej/article/view/36874https://doaj.org/toc/1923-1202Background: Senior medical students represent future physicians who commonly refer patients for diagnostic imaging studies that may involve ionizing radiation. The radiology curriculum at the University of British Columbia provides students with broad-based knowledge about common imaging examinations. The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ awareness of radiation exposures and risks. Methods: An anonymous multiple-choice cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed to final year medical students to assess knowledge of radiation from common diagnostic examinations and radiation-related risks following completion of the longitudinal radiology curriculum, carried out over the four years of medical training. Results: Sixty-three of 192 eligible students participated (33% response rate). The majority felt that knowledge of radiation doses of common imaging examinations is somewhat or very important; however, only 12% (N = 8) routinely discuss radiation-related risks with patients. While all respondents recognized children as most sensitive to the effects of radiation, only 24% (N = 15) correctly identified gonads as the most radiation-sensitive tissue. Almost all respondents recognized ultrasound and MRI as radiation free modalities. Respondents who correctly identified the relative dose of common imaging examinations in chest x-ray equivalents varied from 3-77% (N = 2 – 49); the remaining responses were largely underestimates. Finally, 44% (N = 28) correctly identified the excess risk of a fatal cancer from an abdominal CT in an adult, while the remainder underestimated this risk. Conclusion: Medical students acknowledge the importance of radiation-related issues to patient care. While almost all students are familiar with radiation-free modalities, many are not familiar with, and commonly underestimate, the relative doses and risks of common imaging studies. This may expose patients to increasing imaging investigations and exposure to radiation hazards. Elena ScaliJohn MayoSavvas NicolaouMichael KozorizSilvia ChangCanadian Medical Education JournalarticleRadiation risksmedical educationmedical studentsEducation (General)L7-991Medicine (General)R5-920ENCanadian Medical Education Journal, Vol 8, Iss 4 (2017)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Radiation risks medical education medical students Education (General) L7-991 Medicine (General) R5-920
spellingShingle	Radiation risks medical education medical students Education (General) L7-991 Medicine (General) R5-920 Elena Scali John Mayo Savvas Nicolaou Michael Kozoriz Silvia Chang Senior medical students’ awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations
description	Background: Senior medical students represent future physicians who commonly refer patients for diagnostic imaging studies that may involve ionizing radiation. The radiology curriculum at the University of British Columbia provides students with broad-based knowledge about common imaging examinations. The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ awareness of radiation exposures and risks. Methods: An anonymous multiple-choice cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed to final year medical students to assess knowledge of radiation from common diagnostic examinations and radiation-related risks following completion of the longitudinal radiology curriculum, carried out over the four years of medical training. Results: Sixty-three of 192 eligible students participated (33% response rate). The majority felt that knowledge of radiation doses of common imaging examinations is somewhat or very important; however, only 12% (N = 8) routinely discuss radiation-related risks with patients. While all respondents recognized children as most sensitive to the effects of radiation, only 24% (N = 15) correctly identified gonads as the most radiation-sensitive tissue. Almost all respondents recognized ultrasound and MRI as radiation free modalities. Respondents who correctly identified the relative dose of common imaging examinations in chest x-ray equivalents varied from 3-77% (N = 2 – 49); the remaining responses were largely underestimates. Finally, 44% (N = 28) correctly identified the excess risk of a fatal cancer from an abdominal CT in an adult, while the remainder underestimated this risk. Conclusion: Medical students acknowledge the importance of radiation-related issues to patient care. While almost all students are familiar with radiation-free modalities, many are not familiar with, and commonly underestimate, the relative doses and risks of common imaging studies. This may expose patients to increasing imaging investigations and exposure to radiation hazards.
format	article
author	Elena Scali John Mayo Savvas Nicolaou Michael Kozoriz Silvia Chang
author_facet	Elena Scali John Mayo Savvas Nicolaou Michael Kozoriz Silvia Chang
author_sort	Elena Scali
title	Senior medical students’ awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations
title_short	Senior medical students’ awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations
title_full	Senior medical students’ awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations
title_fullStr	Senior medical students’ awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations
title_full_unstemmed	Senior medical students’ awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations
title_sort	senior medical students’ awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations
publisher	Canadian Medical Education Journal
publishDate	2017
url	https://doaj.org/article/56f7b87e84894c3b8368fd76ea4d38c4
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Senior medical students’ awareness of radiation risks from common diagnostic imaging examinations

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