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Chief Medical Officer visits Norwich Radiology Academy
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Last modified date:12 March 2007
Dr Erika Denton, Dr Julia Moore and Sir Liam Donaldson
On 5 May 2006, the Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, visited the Norwich Radiology Academy, one of three new state-of-the-art academies in the UK. The Academy offers a number of new resources, such as an innovative e-learning database, interventional simulators, and a national validated case archive (VCA) to provide training for radiologists.
Sir Liam was greeted by Dr Erica Denton, the National Clinical Lead for Diagnostic Imaging, before being taken on a tour of the Academy and participating in a discussion with trainees and trainers.
Sir Liam Donaldson said, 'For one very interesting morning I was transported into the world of simulation and skills-based training in medicine. What I saw was a glimpse of the future and it was deeply impressive.'
About Norwich Radiology Academy
Norwich Radiology Academy is one of three academies, located in Norwich, Plymouth and Leeds, that allow each of these training schemes to significantly increase their number of trainees.
The Academy opened in October 2005 and forms part of the Radiology Integrated Training Initiative (R-ITI), a collaborative project of the Royal College of Radiologists, the Department of Health and the NHS.
The R-ITI is composed of two parts: the three Academies, and the electronic learning resource . It is expected that by January 2007, all UK radiologists will have access to the electronic learning resource.
R-ITI has drawn significant interest from other medical specialities such as Pathology, Emergency Medicine and Anaesthetics. It has also attracted considerable international interest from both individuals and countries such as Australia, Eire, Singapore, Turkey, Russia, Poland, and South Africa.
The PACS Room
Sir Liam Donaldson and 3rd-year trainee
As part of the tour Sir Liam was taken to the Picture Archiving Communication System (PACS) Room, where much of the Academy's e-learning project is based.
The Academy's workstations are fully integrated with a range of web-based technologies, and are used in conjunction with more traditional apprentice-style training.
E-learning database
An electronic learning database holds the core radiology knowledge necessary to cover the first three years of basic training for radiologists.
Trainees can use the e-learning database to prepare for forthcoming lectures or to develop their own knowledge over time. The tool provides core knowledge as well as demonstrations, tests, and links to other resources.
Validated Case Archive (VCA)
A national Validated Case Archive (VCA) provides a study resource of radiology cases, cross checked and quality assured, to enable students to learn from real clinical cases. The archive is continually being expanded in order to provide examples of all aspects of radiology imaging.
Trainees can use the cases to test their own knowledge and skills, making their own assessment of the case by studying the patient's history (fully anonymisied at source) and images, and then comparing their diagnosis with the case diagnosis.
And a Learning Management System (LMS) tracks and records each individual's use and progress , to provide a continuous record of their development and expertise.
Skills lab
Ultrasound demonstration
In addition to the PACS Room, Norwich Radiology Academy is also provided with a skills lab, equipped with interventional simulators (VIST), various anatomical models and phantoms, and ultrasound machines.
Seminar rooms
The Academy's three seminar rooms offer videoconferencing facilities which can link to both local and national sites to allow remote teaching.
Voice activated reporting
A further feature of the state-of-the-art facilities is the voice activated reporting system. Voice activated reporting uses voice recognition software to enable radiologists to produce a report whilst examining the images on screen.
The software then produces a written report which can be checked immediately while the diagnosis is fresh in the radiologist's mind.
Previously systems have relied on tape recorded reports which were then typed by a secretary, before being checked and finally authorised by the reporting doctor.
With the new reporting system, reports and images are instantly stored and can be sent electronically to all those involved in a patient's care, including GPs and other clinicians.
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