Radiology Resident Evaluation

A Form that Addresses the Six Competencies of the Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education

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Prepared by the Association of Program Directors in Radiology (APDR) Education Committee

Jannette Collins, MD, MEd, FCCP, Chair

Charles Hyde, MD

Linda Gray, MD

Beverly Wood, MD, MSc

Russell A. Blinder, MD

Michael L. Puckett, CDR, MC, USN

Melissa L. Rosado de Christenson, Col, USAF, MC

Kelly K. Koeller, CAPT, MC, USN

The opinions and assertions herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official or as representing the views of the Departments of the Air Force, Navy or Defense.

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is increasing its emphasis on outcomes in the accreditation of residency programs

[1]. The ACGME Program Requirements for Residency Education in Diagnostic Radiology [1] state, "The program must demonstrate that it has developed an effective plan for assessing resident performance throughout the program and for utilizing evaluation results to improve resident performance. This plan should include use of dependable measures to assess residents' competence in patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice." A description of these competencies and selected assessment methods as they relate to radiology residency is soon to be published

[2]. The Education Committee of the Association of Program Directors in Radiology developed a form that could be used by radiology residency programs in evaluating resident competence in the six areas outlined by the ACGME. The evaluation form was finalized after multiple revisions by the committee members and represents a compromise between brevity and inclusiveness. In developing the form, there was a tendency to want to add and embellish items, particularly under the headings of Professionalism and Interpersonal/Communication Skills. The committee members recognized that the final listing of items did not include all of the resident behaviors that could or should be evaluated, but those that were felt to be most amenable to evaluation by the format provided. Programs are advised to use the evaluation form in conjunction with other evaluation tools that have been described [2] to provide a complete assessment of resident competence. Programs are also advised that the submitted form can be modified to meet the needs of individual programs. The form can be lengthened or shortened; rating categories in addition to below competence, competent, and above competence can be added; and multiple iterations of the form can be used to meet the needs of individual sections in a radiology training program. Programs are encouraged to develop a computerized evaluation system or use an existing computerized system to evaluate residents. The submitted form can easily be adopted for use in such systems, making the evaluation process more efficient for residents, faculty and program administrators.

References
1. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. http://www.acgme.org. Last accessed 2-26-02.
2. Collins J, Rosado de Christenson ML, Gray L, Hyde C, Koeller KK, Laine, F, Wood B. General Competencies in Radiology Residency Training: Definitions, Skills, Education and Assessment. Academic Radiology, in press.