A new study from the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute has found that radiologists are spending significantly less time training residents as their workloads increase.

Published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, the research analyzed Medicare Part B claims data from 2008 to 2020, covering 35,595 radiologists. It found that resident training, measured as a percentage of the total clinical workload, fell from 35.3% in 2008 to 26.3% in 2019, with a further decline to 24.5% in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study also revealed an 80% increase in radiologists' overall workload between 2008 and 2019. This rise in volume appears to be limiting the time radiologists can dedicate to training residents. The researchers noted a 19% drop in the rate of cases read with trainees among teaching radiologists.
Although the number of radiologists involved in resident training grew from 20,530 in 2008 to 22,502 in 2020, the average workload per radiologist still increased by 7% through 2019. Dr. Andrew Rosenkranz, director of health policy at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, highlighted the potential impact of this workload increase on teaching time and burnout.

The study also showed shifts in the demographics of teaching radiologists, who were more likely to be subspecialists, female, and in urban practices. However, the downward trend in training participation was consistent across a broad range of radiologists.

The dispersion of training responsibilities across a larger group of radiologists, many of whom do little teaching, raises questions about the consistency and quality of resident education, said YoonKyung Chung, Ph.D., the study’s lead researcher.

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