Comprehensive innovative solution for resident education using the Intranet Journal of Chest Radiology.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

Because of the rapid increase in clinical workload in academic radiology departments, time for teaching rotating residents is getting more and more limited. As a solution to this problem, we introduced the Intranet Journal of Chest Radiology as a comprehensive innovative tool for assisting resident education.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Intranet Journal of Chest Radiology is constructed using Microsoft FrontPage version 2002 (Microsoft Corp, Redmond, WA) and is hosted in our departmental web server (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA). The home page of the intranet journal provides access to the main features, "Cases of the Month," "Teaching File," "Selected Articles for Residents," "Lecture Series," and "Current Publications." These features provide quick access to the selected radiology articles, the interesting chest cases, and the lecture series and current publication from the chest section.

RESULTS

Our intranet journal has been well utilized for 6 months after its introduction. It enhances residents' interest and motivation to work on case collections, to search and read articles, and to generate interest in research. Frequent updating is necessary for the journal to be kept current, relevant, and well-utilized.

CONCLUSION

The intranet journal serves as a comprehensive innovative solution for resident education, providing basic educational resources and opportunities of interactive participation by residents.