Appropriateness of imaging studies ordered by emergency medicine residents: results of an online survey.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to determine the proficiency of emergency medicine residents in selecting appropriate radiologic examinations for specific clinical scenarios and to ascertain whether their training improves competency in this area over the course of their residency.


METHODS
An online multiple-choice questionnaire was created. It included 10 clinical scenarios excerpted from the American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria guidelines and instructed residents to select the most appropriate initial imaging study. A link and invitation to the survey were e-mailed to the residency program directors and coordinators of all American Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited emergency medicine residency training programs with the request that they be forwarded to their current residents. Responses were graded, with correct answers derived from the American College of Radiology guidelines. Results were stratified by year of emergency medicine training, and an analysis of variance was performed.


RESULTS
A total of 583 residents from at least 77 different emergency medicine residency training programs completed the survey. Overall, the average number of questions answered correctly was 7.1 of 10 (SD, 1.2). First-through fourth-year residents averaged 6.9 (SD, 1.3), 7.1 (SD, 1.2), 7.1 (SD, 1.1), and 7.5 (SD, 1.1) correct answers, respectively. Analysis of variance found no significant difference between the scores of the four classes (p = 0.09).


CONCLUSIONS
Emergency medicine residents do not show significant improvement over the course of their residency in their ability to choose appropriate imaging studies. This finding suggests that there is a role for more-rigorous focused instruction to better familiarize residents with appropriateness guidelines for diagnostic imaging selection.
1 All authors: Department of Radiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, 111 E 210th St, Bronx, NY 10467.
R Joshua
RJ
Dym
Judah
J
Burns
Benjamin H
BH
Taragin
D003625:Data Collection; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D020407:Internet; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009862:Online Systems; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011871:Radiology / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014481:United States; D014600:Utilization Review