Psychological Safety as a New ACGME Requirement: A Comprehensive All-in-One Guide to Radiology Residency Programs

Abstract

Rationale and objectives: With the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education recently updating their common program requirements to include components of psychological safety as a core principle, radiology training programs and academic radiology institutions will need to evaluate psychological safety within their residency programs and implement practices to sustain a safety culture. This article reviews current literature to present a concise guide for radiology programs on best practices for implementing psychological safety, considering the plethora of literature that is available.

Materials and methods: We searched PubMed for published studies evaluating safety culture in medical education and residency. The key words used were Psychological Safety, Education, Radiology, Workplace Culture, and Leadership.

Results: Ninety two studies were reviewed that contributed to the topics examined throughout this manuscript, including a brief history of psychological safety, evolving challenges, and a summation of best practices at the institutional, interpersonal, and individual levels that can result in a sustainable psychologically safe culture for radiology residents.

Conclusion: This article will highlight unique considerations pertinent to a radiology residency program, including suggestions for creating a less stressful environment during case conferences, fostering and supporting residents who are struggling, and inclusive psychological safety practices that also consider non-resident contributors to a residency program, such as attending physician faculty and non-physician radiology technicians.

Keywords: Education; Leadership; Psychological Safety; Radiology; Workplace Culture.