Postgraduate radiology training in sub-Saharan Africa: a review of current educational resources.
OBJECTIVE
Postgraduate training programs in radiology exist in several African nations. The ability of these programs to train radiologists is necessarily affected by local availability of educational resources, including clinical case volume, radiology equipment and maintenance, number of teaching faculty, and library and computer facilities. We sought to determine the current resources of a sample of African radiology education programs.


METHODS
Site visits were conducted at three separate radiology training programs, one in Ghana and two in South Africa. At each site, the investigator conducted a technology census, assessed library resources, observed daily trainee activities, and interviewed trainees, faculty, and statisticians.


RESULTS
African radiology trainees receive considerable training in fluoroscopy, ultrasound, and plain film radiography, but receive considerably less training in nuclear medicine, mammography, magnetic resonance imaging, and interventional radiology. A large amount of equipment in African teaching hospitals is inoperative because of lack of maintenance programs. Faculty to resident ratios in African teaching hospitals are much lower than in American hospitals. Needs of training programs vary greatly from hospital to hospital, and from country to country.


CONCLUSIONS
Radiologists, radiology organizations, and radiology vendors from high-income nations are in a unique position to help Africa's postgraduate radiology training programs fulfill their mission of training Africa's next generation of radiologists. It is desirable that long-term commitments be made to teaching hospitals so that scarce donated resources may be put to the best possible use.
Rabinowitz
Deborah A
DA
Department of Radiology, The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 1 Silverstein, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
Pretorius
E Scott
ES
D017954:Africa South of the Sahara; D004496:Education, Continuing / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015397:Program Evaluation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011871:Radiology / Q000193:education*