Purpose or Case Report: To develop a reproducible framework for designing subspecialty pediatric radiology curricula.
Methods & Materials: Kern’s 6-step model for curriculum development was implemented while creating a pediatric radiology genitourinary (GU) curriculum to serve as a template for successive curricula at an academic pediatric hospital. Our steps included: 1. Problem identification: evaluating institutional resources and performing a literature search; 2. Local needs assessment: surveying trainees regarding their perception of curriculum accessibility and clarity using a standardized Likert scale; 3. Creation of clear goals: designing learning objectives based on input from experts in pediatric GU imaging and national curriculum standards set by the American Board of Radiology and Society of Pediatric Radiology; 4. Educational strategy: integrating curated resources; 5. Implementation: piloting the curriculum with learners; and 6. Evaluation/feedback: surveying learners to determine impact.
Results: Review of institutional resources and a literature search demonstrated the lack of an organized pediatric GU radiology curriculum. The needs assessment of current fellows and residents (n=13) revealed that 38.5% of trainees are not confident in which GU topics are important to study to be successful in their training. Furthermore, 61.6% do not know what resources they should use to optimize their learning. The majority of trainees do not think that they have a clear structure to guide their studying (77.0%), nor do they believe that they study pediatric GU imaging in a systematic manner (77.0%). Based on these findings, a curriculum was developed utilizing national guidelines and feedback from four pediatric GU radiologists. The curriculum was constructed with clear learning objectives and divided into two tiers of complexity to meet the distinct needs of residents and fellows. This design was reviewed at a departmental quality improvement meeting for additional feedback. Future steps include: matching curated resources to the learning objectives that they satisfy, implementing the curriculum using a unified platform, and surveying the perception of the new curriculum in its effectiveness to guide self-directed learning.
Conclusions: We applied Kern’s 6-Step method of curriculum development to create a pediatric radiology GU curriculum for residents and fellows at our institution. This roadmap outlines a feasible, reproducible framework to address the critical need for standardization in pediatric radiology training.