Purpose: Residents` performance quality assurance and improvement is a priority for residency programs in all departments, let alone in Radiology. Studies have been performed mostly for trauma reports during night shifts, or for specific imaging modalities. There is a need for a more general quality control system that covers all modalities in which residents are engaged.
The radiology department of the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center developed a residents quality grading system (RQC). The goal of this system is to provide data that will demonstrate residents` progress and areas of strength and weaknesses, and hence will enable tailoring the residency program on an individual basis.
Material & Methods: A computerized information system has been developed and deployed. The system enables seniors to grade residents’ reports on a scale of 1-4, according to the following:
1= complete agreement of attending radiologist with the resident`s report.
2= general agreement between reports, with minor changes.
3= major changes without significant clinical impact.
4= major changes with clinical significance and possibly different patient management. The attending radiologist inserts the appropriate grade in the report, and once it is signed – the resident is able to instantly see it.
Results: The RQC system has been implemented successfully in our department thus far, with compliance rate higher than 90% among attending radiologists. Residents have been able to receive on-line feedback, understanding instantly the clinical impact of their reports. Moreover, the department management is able to monitor a resident`s progress and areas of weaknesses, thus direct his/her residency program accordingly. limitations include variability between evaluating radiologists and bias based on previous impressions.
Conclusion: Residency Quality Control (RQC) is a new system implemented by our radiology department, with a high compliance rate, enabling constant feedback on residents` radiology reports. It continuously provides essential data that will impact residents` progress and quality of radiology reports, thus tailoring the residency program on an individual basis.
