Transferring Knowledge to Skills

The Henry I. Goldberg Center for Advanced Imaging Education continues to expand its role in medical student education at UCSF. Under the direction of Richard S. Breiman, MD, Marcia J. McCowin, MD, and program representative, Phil Reser, the center participates in teaching in the pre-clinical core curriculum, offers imaging workshops associated with clinical clerkships, and coordinates electives in radiology on campus and at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC).

The facility includes a large multimedia conference room used for medical student, resident, and postgraduate courses, a dedicated student classroom with a PACS workstation, as well as a computer resource area with online teaching applications providing access to current and teaching cases from the clinical sections of the radiology department used in student seminars.

Radiology 140. 03: “I will undoubtedly be a better resident (and ultimately attending physician) as a result of the greater familiarity with imaging that I developed in this class. It was clear that a good deal of thought was put into ensuring a balance of breadth and depth. It was also nice to interact with medical students from other countries who (besides being nice people) provided interesting insights into the practice of medicine in their respective countries. We don't get that many opportunities to do this within our standard curriculum, and I found this refreshing.”
- Aaron Tward, UCSF School of Medicine

“The teaching reflects the excellent reputation this department and institution has worldwide. Having attended several rotations of this type in several institutions, I must say this has been my best and most learned one yet. I learned more in the few weeks here than I had in the first three years of medical school." - David Mobley, Columbia University

The Center strives to teach the responsible use of medical imaging to future clinicians, to serve as a foundation for future radiology residents and to expose younger students to the specialty. The Center also provides career and curricular advising and mentoring for many students. Many faculty from the VAMC, San Francisco General Hospital, Moffitt/Long Hospital, as well as practicing and retired volunteer faculty give generously of their time in programs administered by the Goldberg Center. In addition, radiology fellows in all sections contribute to case review sessions and lectures.

Many radiology residents take advantage of a wide variety of opportunities to teach in the Goldberg Center, including lecturing, moderating student case presentations and core course small group labs, along with leading discussions for first- and second-year students in the core curriculum. One of the highlights of the fourth-year elective (140.03), is the night call rotation, in which students take evening call with the UCSF radiology residents. The students share their experiences with their colleagues the next morning in a session moderated by faculty or residents. This experience demonstrates the importance of radiology in patient care and the complexity of image interpretation.

The Goldberg Center teaching experiences are often invaluable to the participating residents and fellows, who may realize hidden talents and a passion for teaching, potentially shaping their future career paths. Their contributions are crucial to the Center’s success and much appreciated by student, faculty and staff.

Like many other aspects of modern life, the practice of radiology is steadily converting to the digital world. The Web-based, Radiology 100 - Introduction to Clinical Imaging syllabus remains the basic resource for student learning. Accessible through the UCSF radiology website and to the entire SOM via iRocket, it is a concise, on-line resource that highlights the indications for imaging and the basic radiographic features of common clinical problems in a short, readable form with 300 appropriate images. The center has also embarked on a project to digitize its vast film-based teaching file, combining this valuable resource with the already existing digital TF, easily accessible and searchable by keywords.

Advanced 3-D image processing techniques available in the Goldberg Center, including life-like stereoscopic 3-D displays, have led to the development and implementation of interactive anatomy teaching modules. These techniques and their applications were demonstrated at infoRAD exhibits at the RSNA and at a Harvard symposium on technology in life sciences education. Ongoing projects, several in association with Apple, Inc. and Fovia Medical, are aimed at the creation of on-line teaching materials, such as Podcasts, lectures, and interactive teaching modules.

For more information and a demonstration of the Center’s three-dimensional capabilities and research opportunities, click here.

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