Your Donations in Action: Arif Musa, MD, MS

Undergraduate medical education has evolved significantly over the past decade, with substantial innovations seen within the radiology community.  

Radiology education leaders now advocate for electives that incorporate both virtual learning and hands-on experiences, modeled after the clinical sub-internships undertaken by fourth year medical students.  

For his 2022 RSNA Research Medical Study Grant project “(EMPOWER) Evaluating Medical Student Participation, Observation, and Workstation Education in Radiology: Implementing a Hybrid Learning Model in Diagnostic Radiology Electives,” Arif Musa, MD, MS, chief diagnostic radiology resident at the Detroit Medical Center, and colleagues studied the implementation of a hybrid learning model of education for medical students enrolled in the musculoskeletal radiology clerkship at their institution. 

The hybrid model consisted of a personal virtual workstation, an online lecture series, virtual assignments and observation of diagnostic and interventional radiology procedures. After completion of the clerkship, the students were surveyed about their experience at the workstation, their interest in radiology as a career choice and the educational utility of each experience of the clerkship.  

The results of the cross-sectional study showed that over 85% of medical students reported high utility in image interpretation at their own personal workstation. In addition, 94.2% of the students found it beneficial to review their image interpretation with a resident or attending radiologist. 

Other strongly supported aspects of the program were the opportunity to observe radiologists interpreting images at their workstations and having a mentor assigned at the beginning of the clerkship.  

“Finding opportunities to actively involve medical students during their radiology rotations and supplement their learning both with the traditional learning model and online resources appears to improve their educational experience and stimulate career interest in radiology,” Dr. Musa said. 

Most of the students found that a personal workstation improved their understanding of basic radiological anatomy, knowledge of imaging modalities, identification of pathologies, and further understanding of the role of a radiologist.  

The R&E Foundation grant enabled Dr. Musa to conduct this clinically significant research into shaping the education of future radiology trainees.  

“I am tremendously grateful to the R&E Foundation and the University of California Irvine School of Medicine Department of Radiology for funding my research and providing me with the opportunity to study medical education in radiology,” Dr. Musa said. 

For More Information 

Learn more about R&E Foundation funding opportunities.  

Read our previous Your Donations in Action story.