Radiology-Pathology Conference: Reviving the Art of Oral Case Presentation in Residency

Rationale and Objectives To improve resident oral case communication and preparatory skills by providing residents an opportunity to prepare for and conduct a new interdisciplinary Radiology-Pathology (Rad-Path) conference series. Materials and Methods To assess whether conference goals were being achieved, we surveyed trainees and attendings in the radiology and pathology departments. Percentages were examined for each variable. Mann-Whitney U test for ordinal variable significance was applied to determine statistical significance between radiology trainee and attending survey responses. Results Most surveyed radiology trainees (57.1%) strongly agreed or agreed with: “I wish I felt more comfortable with oral presentations.” Sixty-five percent of radiology attendings (34 of 52) either agreed or strongly agreed that the residents should be more comfortable with oral case presentations. Of resident Rad-Path conference presenters, 69% (9 of 13) either agreed or strongly agreed that the conference improved their confidence and/or ability to present case information orally. Of responders who attended at least one Rad-Path conference in person, 83% of residents (19/23) and 61% (17/28) of attendings agreed or strongly agreed that the conference improved their ability to formulate a differential diagnosis. Using the Mann-Whitney U test, no significant difference was found between radiology trainees and attendings' responses. Conclusions Our Rad-Path correlation conference was specifically designed and structured to provide residents with focused experience in formal oral case preparation and presentation. We consider our conference a success, with 69% of resident presenters reporting that the Rad-Path conference improved their confidence and/or ability to present case information orally.