Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI.
Acad Radiol. 2020 Dec;27(12):1751-1759. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2019.09.026. Epub 2019 Nov 21.
Nuclear medicine (NM) is a multidisciplinary field. Its overlap with nuclear radiology (NR) creates unique training considerations, opportunities, and challenges. Various factors impact the workforce, training needs, and training pathways. This state of flux may be perplexing to prospective NM/NR trainees.
To evaluate the state of NM/NR training by assessing the (1) workforce trends and job prospects for NM/NR trainees, (2) NM and NR training pathways, and (3) applicant-accessible online presence of training programs.
Workforce trends were analyzed using data collected from the 2017 American College of Radiology Commission on Human Resources Workforce Survey. Information regarding the training pathways leading to board certification(s) for NM and NR physicians were obtained through the American Board of Nuclear Medicine, the American Board of Radiology (ABR), and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging. Each Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited NM residency or NR fellowship training program's website was reviewed for 20 content items to assess its comprehensiveness for those seeking information regarding eligibility, applications, training curriculum, and program characteristics.
Number of hires for NM/NR physicians has exceeded the projected number of hires from 2014 to 2017. In the last decade, there has been a greater than 25% decrease in the combined number of traditional NM residencies and NR fellowships (79-58 programs) and a greater than 50% decrease in the combined number of NM and NR trainees (173-82 trainees). In 2017, the ABR redesigned its 16-month pathway leading to specialty certification in diagnostic radiology and subspecialty certification in NR. As of March 24, 2019, there are 36 diagnostic radiology or IR residency programs with 64 trainees participating in this redesigned NR pathway. Of the 93.1% (54/58) of traditional Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited NM and NR training programs having websites in the 2017-2018 academic year, the mean number of online criteria met per program was 7.74 ± 3.2 of 20 (38.7%).
Recruitment into the traditional NM/NR training pathways has been steadily declining, but there has been a renewed interest with the redesigned ABR 16-month pathway. There is a paucity of online information available to prospective NM/NR applicants. In this rapidly evolving and unique field, it is important to streamline NM/NR training and bolster the information accessible to potential NM/NR applicants as they weigh career options.
核医学（NM）是一个多学科领域。它与核放射学（NR）的重叠产生了独特的培训考虑因素、机会和挑战。各种因素影响劳动力、培训需求和培训途径。这种不断变化的状态可能会让未来的 NM/NR 学员感到困惑。
通过评估（1）NM/NR 学员的劳动力趋势和工作前景，（2）NM 和 NR 培训途径，以及（3）培训计划的申请人可访问的在线存在，来评估 NM/NR 培训的现状。
使用 2017 年美国放射学院人力资源劳动力调查收集的数据分析劳动力趋势。通过美国核医学委员会、美国放射学委员会（ABR）和核医学与医学影像学协会获得导致 NM 和 NR 医生获得委员会认证（多个）的培训途径的信息。审查每个经研究生医学教育认证委员会认证的 NM 居住或 NR 奖学金培训计划的网站，以评估其对那些寻求有关资格、申请、培训课程和计划特征信息的人的全面性。
NM/NR 医生的招聘人数已经超过了 2014 年至 2017 年预计的招聘人数。在过去十年中，传统 NM 居住和 NR 奖学金的总数减少了 25%以上（79-58 个项目），NM 和 NR 学员的总数减少了 50%以上（173-82 名学员）。2017 年，ABR 重新设计了通往诊断放射学专业认证和 NR 专业认证的 16 个月途径。截至 2019 年 3 月 24 日，有 36 个诊断放射学或 IR 居住计划，有 64 名学员参加了这个重新设计的 NR 途径。在 2017-2018 学年拥有网站的 93.1%（54/58）传统经研究生医学教育认证委员会认证的 NM 和 NR 培训计划中，每个计划在线符合的标准平均数为 7.74 ± 3.2 个/20（38.7%）。
NM/NR 传统培训途径的招聘人数一直在稳步下降，但重新设计的 ABR 16 个月途径引起了新的兴趣。潜在的 NM/NR 申请人可获得的在线信息很少。在这个快速发展和独特的领域，简化 NM/NR 培训并加强对潜在 NM/NR 申请人的信息支持是很重要的，因为他们正在权衡职业选择。
