The Early Influence and Effects of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Resident Education and Adaptations

Abstract

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a major impact on the education of trainees in the radiology environment. The precipitous drop in patient volumes and sequestering of faculty and trainees to maintain social distancing affects experiential learning. The shift of nearly all teaching settings to a virtual environment has been challenging but may also allow more interaction during teaching sessions than traditional readout sessions or didactic lectures. Faculty development is key in ensuring competence and confidence in this new environment. Recruitment of trainees using a virtual platform will require communication of opportunities as well as the culture of the department and institution as well as the community. Delay of the board examinations has caused angst as well as disruption of the timing of clinical rotations but may ultimately result in a shift of how the examinations are administered. The exceptional disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic allows us to reconsider how the educational aspects of imaging can emerge as improved in the years to come.

Keywords: COVID-19; faculty development; resident education; resident recruitment; virtual teaching.