A Medical Student’s First Annual Meeting
A medical student reflects on attending the ACR Annual Meeting, providing insights on advocacy, careers in radiology and how to get involved.
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Radiology is a comparatively young specialty in the field of medicine, stemming from the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895 and later progressing to advanced modalities such as CT and MRI. Since then, radiology has played a pivotal role in clinical care and diagnosis across every field of medicine. Despite the importance of radiology in patient care, few U.S. medical schools require a dedicated radiology clerkship, and preclinical radiology education is often fragmented within other courses.
This was the case at the University of Minnesota Medical School (UMMS), where radiology education was a small adjunct to required anatomy lab or sparsely incorporated into lectures throughout the system blocks. Although those experiences introduced imaging to many, they often fell short in teaching students how to interpret studies, understand why one imaging modality is chosen over another or appreciate the role radiologists play in patient care.
Working alongside the medical school's anatomy team, we developed a proposal to integrate a radiology curriculum as a thread throughout the system-based preclinical years. This proposal addressed the gap in the existing curriculum and highlighted the importance of early exposure. The revamped curriculum not only included a framework on how to interpret imaging for board exams and clerkships but also emphasized the logistics behind how imaging can shape patient care. These sessions could also help students better understand lab anatomy and apply that to their patients.
Our proposal included six radiology-focused sessions distributed throughout the preclinical curriculum. Each 50-minute session was jointly led by an anatomist and a practicing radiologist, bridging foundational science and clinical application. In the musculoskeletal block, students learn how bones, joints and soft tissues appear on radiographs and MRI examinations. During the cardiovascular or gastrointestinal units, imaging instruction shifts toward modalities and pathology relevant to these organ systems.
Sessions begin with an overview of imaging techniques and move into interpretation of normal anatomy before introducing clinical cases. Students work through cases in small groups, discussing differential diagnoses, selecting appropriate imaging studies and considering factors such as cost, turnaround time, radiation exposure and contraindications.
These conversations mirror the kinds of decisions physicians make every day, regardless of specialty. Students were taught to identify the most appropriate imaging for a given pathology, guided by the ACR Appropriateness Criteria®. Learning to choose the correct study for a given indication is an invaluable skill for any medical student to have. The goal is not to train first-year students to become radiologists overnight. Rather, it is to help them develop a framework for viewing imaging as part of patient care and clinical decision-making.
The ACR® serves as a strong proponent of medical education, and ACR-organized resources such as the ACR Medical Student Section and ACR Medical Student Curriculum Building Blocks have become increasingly valuable in the pedagogy of early medical trainees. These programs provide structured educational content, helping to introduce imaging concepts earlier in training and demonstrating how radiology supports patient care. For students, organized tools such as these assist in structuring formal radiological thinking skills, encouraging critical evaluation of scans while on the wards.
As our project evolved, we sought to understand whether students found value in this type of instruction. For the musculoskeletal imaging session, we conducted anonymous pre- and post-session surveys examining confidence, specialty knowledge and attitudes toward additional radiology education.
The findings were encouraging: Students reported significantly greater knowledge of the radiology specialty after participating in the session. Further support for integrating more radiology content into the curriculum increased substantially, rising from 66% to 83% after the session.
One first-year medical student at UMMS stated: “I’m interested in surgical specialties. In clinic, I have found myself doing pre- and post-op visits and the most important thing to know from top-to-bottom is the patient’s imaging history. This informs us what surgeries we can potentially offer to the patient. Having this proposal implemented will immensely change the way the University of Minnesota trains the future generation of physicians.”
One survey finding appeared surprising. Students rated their imaging interpretation abilities slightly lower after the session than before it. However, this may represent success rather than setback.
Before formal instruction, students may overestimate their abilities because they have only encountered limited examples or simplified board-preparation materials. Exposure to real-world imaging complexity helps students recognize how much there is to learn. In educational theory, this type of recalibration is often viewed as an important step toward expertise. Students move beyond superficial familiarity and begin developing a more realistic understanding of the knowledge and skills required for accurate image interpretation.
That outcome reflects one of the broader goals of early radiology exposure. While some participants may ultimately pursue careers in diagnostic or interventional radiology, others may pursue different avenues. Regardless of career choice, future physicians must understand how to order appropriate imaging studies, communicate effectively with radiologists and incorporate imaging findings into patient care.
The radiology-focused curriculum creates opportunities for students to explore the subspecialty as a career path earlier than they traditionally might. Many medical students do not encounter formal radiology experiences until clinical electives in their fourth year. By then, career interests and specialty planning are already taking shape. Introducing radiologists into the classroom during preclinical years helps students better understand the specialty’s breadth, impact and collaborative role within healthcare.
Lastly, this project highlights the value of student-led innovation in medical education. This initiative began with conversations among students who felt something was missing from their training. Through collaboration with faculty leaders, anatomists and practicing radiologists, those observations evolved into a curricular proposal and program that has the potential to benefit future classes of learners.
As medical education continues to evolve, students increasingly seek learning experiences that connect foundational science to clinical practice from day one. Radiology offers a powerful way to make those connections visible. When students can see anatomy on imaging, discuss real patient cases and understand how imaging guides clinical decisions, radiology becomes a vital asset in their medical education.
A Medical Student’s First Annual Meeting
A medical student reflects on attending the ACR Annual Meeting, providing insights on advocacy, careers in radiology and how to get involved.
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