Novel Approaches Boost Students' Exposure to Radiology
Early, inclusive outreach helps students picture a future in radiology
Novel outreach, education, and mentorship initiatives attract more students to radiology and deepen the diversity of the field, according to leaders.
Radiology faces significant challenges in attracting young people to the field early in their medical education and training. Most medical students do not learn about radiology until their fourth year, when many have already decided on another specialty.
Other obstacles to recruiting students include misinformation about the threat to radiology from AI and the potential perception that the field is inhospitable toward women, according to Olga Pasternak-Wise, MD, program director for the Chicago Residency at the University of Chicago.
Dr. Pasternak-Wise was one of four presenters who spoke on the topic of early radiology recruitment during an RSNA 2025 session sponsored by the RSNA Committee for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
“Those of us in the field know the truth. Radiology careers can evolve over time and the variability with each chosen lifestyle is tremendous. It’s very conducive to remote or in-person work, to having a family and for lifestyle changes,” Dr. Pasternak-Wise said. “However, students cannot know this until they already have an interest in radiology and seek out radiologists to inform them of all the benefits of the specialty.”
To help with that effort, Dr. Pasternak-Wise works on the leadership team at RadExpo, a half-day session in the Chicago area for medical students to learn about the field. The Expo includes a mix of didactic lectures, interactive panels and a hands-on workshop.
Participation has grown since the Expo launched in 2016, and surveys from attendees have shown a significant increase in positive change in how medical students perceive radiology as a field and how they perceive the job security of radiology.
“The current Expo leadership is four female faculty in Chicagoland, of whom three of us are DR residency program directors in large, academic centers, so we know the training requirements, the application processes, the differences between DR and IR direct pathways, and have connections to an incredible number of practicing radiologists in all types of practices throughout the community,” Dr. Pasternak-Wise said. “The relationships with our colleagues in the city and nearby states, as well as the overall close-knit environment of radiology allows us to truly highlight the best of the specialty. Participating radiologists are always willing to come during their time off and speak at our panels and meet students for free.”
“It’s important for college students, medical students and residents to see faculty members who are truly excited about the work that they’re doing and who are working in spaces that allow them to really think about what the impact of their work will look like.”
— ANAND NARAYAN, MD, PHD
Mentorship Boot Camp Builds Pathways to Radiology
“Research experiences and evidence-based mentorship programs provide another means to guide medical students into radiology,” said Anand Narayan, MD, PhD, professor of radiology and vice chair of health equity at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Dr. Narayan pointed to Wisconsin’s Radiology Health Disparities Virtual Research Group, as an example of a multi-institutional pathway program to reach students early in their education. The program was derived from the multi-institutional Rad Boot Camp program, started in 2020 by Daniel B. Chonde, MD, PhD.
Program participants gain experience in research while connecting with people who are willing to write letters of recommendation and help them through their applications. The mentorship is key to the program’s success, Dr. Narayan said.
“It’s important for college students, medical students and residents to see faculty members who are truly excited about the work that they’re doing and who are working in spaces that allow them to really think about what the impact of their work will look like,” he said.
Dr. Narayan recommends that pathway programs have an infrastructure that will keep them sustainable with continued faculty and student engagement and concrete measures of program impact. Metrics like net promoter scores indicate how likely a person is to recommend the program to someone else, while conversion rates measure how many people from a summer research program or internship end up becoming radiologists.
“On the student side, you may have a really positive, encouraging outcome in terms of engagement,” Dr. Narayan said. “But if you’re not thinking carefully about how supervisors and people who are managing the students are experiencing these programs, you may not have enough faculty members to truly get people engaged or excited about participating.”
Storytelling Strengthens Radiology Recruitment
Medical humanities programs offer a novel way to increase the recruitment and retention of students to radiology, according to Matthew Bucknor, MD, MFA, professor of radiology and associate chair for wellbeing and professional climate at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
A graduate of the MFA program for writers at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC, Dr. Bucknor recommends carving out spaces and opportunities for people to share their stories and create the kind of meaningful engagement that makes students more interested in radiology.
“Developing competencies in communication and storytelling helps to form bridges that improve resilience in the face of workplace adversity,” Dr. Bucknor said. “Multiple studies have shown that creative arts therapy can mitigate psychological distress in healthcare professionals. Investing in these skills makes our workplaces more resilient and supportive for everyone, regardless of background.”
Student outreach can begin even before college and medical school. At Montefiore Medical Center, in New York City’s Bronx borough, radiology leaders offer career seminars with tours of the outpatient imaging center and hands-on activities for high school and undergraduate college students.
This exposure is particularly important in a place considered medically underserved with a shortage of healthcare providers. The Bronx is the poorest urban county in the country, and one ranked as the least healthy in the state. Almost 60% of residents use a language other than English.
“There is a critical need to build a pipeline for radiology,” said Judy Yee, MD, chair of radiology at the Albert Einstein School of Medicine.
Dr. Yee also participated in this session and her presentation was covered in Daily Bulletin during the annual meeting. She emphasized the value and importance of developing initiatives like radiology educational events, career seminars, workshops, pathway and outreach programs to educate students in their formative years in the field.
“We need to start early and high school is the perfect time. It’s also an opportunity for us to reach out to underserved communities who need us,” Dr. Yee said.
For More Information
Read the Daily Bulletin story highlighting Dr. Yee’s talk.
Read previous RSNA News stories on radiology recruitment: