Radiologist Self-training: a Study of Cancer Detection when Reading Mammograms at Work Clinics or Workshops

This study investigates the differences in providing a self-directed specialist radiology education system in two modes: at clinics and in-person workshops. 335 Australian radiologists completed 562 readings of mammogram test sets through the web-based interactive BREAST platform with 325 at conference workshops and 237 at their workplaces. They engaged with test sets with each comprising of 60 mammogram cases (20 cancer and 40 normal). Radiologists marked the location of any cancers and had their performance measured via 5 metrics of diagnostic accuracy. Results show that the location of engagement with BREAST did not yield any significant difference in the performances of all radiologists and the same radiologists between two reading modes (P >  0.05). Radiologists who read screening mammograms for BreastScreen Australia performed better when they completed the test sets at designated workshops (P <  0.05), as was also the case for radiologists who read >  100 cases per week (P <  0.05). In contrast, radiologists who read less mammograms frequently recorded better performances in specificity and JAFROC at clinics (P <  0.05). Findings show that remotely accessed online education for specialised training and core skills building in radiology can provide a similar learning opportunity for breast radiologists when compared to on-site dedicated workshops at scientific meetings. For readers with high volumes of mamm ograms, a workshop setting m...
Source: Journal of Cancer Education - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research