Author: Samuel A. Einstein, Jesutofunmi Fajemisin, Evren O. Göksel, Görkem O. Güngör, Marthony Robins, Travis C. Salzillo, Charles R. Thomas, Turgay Toksay, Joseph Weygand, Yue Yan 👨🔬
Affiliation: Acibadem MAA University, Department of Radiation Oncology and Applied Science, Dartmouth Health, Dartmouth College, Moffitt Cancer Center, Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Bursa Ali Osman Sönmez Oncology Hospital 🌍
Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an indispensable clinical tool, offering unparalleled soft tissue contrast critical for diagnosing and managing a wide range of conditions. However, its complexity, rooted in principles of nuclear magnetic resonance, spatial encoding, and k-space, poses significant barriers to understanding for those without specialized training. This study describes two targeted educational initiatives designed to bridge knowledge gaps: a nine-week course for Turkish medical physicists and a six-session weekly workshop for U.S. first-year medical students.
Methods: The Turkish course, organized in collaboration with the Turkish Medical Physics Association, addressed thirteen core topics, including pulse sequence design, geometric distortion, and functional imaging, with an emphasis on MRI’s role in radiotherapy and diagnostic applications. The medical student workshop focused on foundational concepts such as magnetic relaxation, determinants of image quality, MRI safety, and global health implications. Both courses used pre- and post-course surveys to assess self-reported knowledge improvement on a five-point Likert scale, with statistical significance evaluated via the Wilcoxon rank-sum test.
Results: The Turkish course, with 160 participants, and the medical student workshop, with five, both resulted in statistically significant improvements in participants’ knowledge across all assessed topics. In the Turkish course, post-course surveys showed significant increases in median knowledge scores across all thirteen core MRI topics (p < 0.001). Similarly, the workshop for U.S.-based medical students demonstrated significant improvements across all ten core topics covered (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: These results highlight the effectiveness of targeted MRI education in addressing knowledge gaps through both a comprehensive multi-week curriculum for advanced learners and a focused, foundational approach for beginners. The observed knowledge gains among medical physicists and medical students demonstrate the effectiveness of structured, audience-specific courses in improving MRI comprehension. This scalable model offers a pathway towards broader global engagement with MRI, enhancing its clinical integration and utility.