Pattern-Based Learning: An Educational Model for Radiology Assistants

Background: Studies show that planning, strategy making, and modeling have greater impact on the achievement of learners than other educational factors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the changes in clinical competency of radiology residents by teaching and training educational models of radiologic Pattern recognition - diagnostic Approach - Feedback on diagnosis (PAF).  Methods: This semi-experimental study was performed at Mashhad University of Medical Sciences from 2018 up to 2020. The participants were 60 radiology residents divided randomly into two groups of 30 subjects in two educational centers. Eight training sessions were held at one of the two educational centers for teaching this model to assistants. Then, the clinical competency of residents was evaluated by four exams. In addition, residents' satisfaction was also determined by a confidential survey conducted by the university. The parametric tests were used for data analysis. p Results: Comparison of the scores of two groups in OSCE exam showed that in the second and third-year of being assistance, the scores of the intervention group were significantly better than the control group (P=0.02 & 0.05), but no significant difference was found between the two groups in the formative (qualitative) and multiple-choice question exams. About 82.7% of radiology residents were satisfied with this educational model. Conclusion: Pattern-based learning, including PAF, is a practical suggestion for problem-based learning in medical imaging. It can lead to improvement of the clinical competency in radiology residents, especially levels 2 or 3.