Vision, Development, and Structure of the First German Specialist Training Curriculum for Radiology

According to the Model Specialist Training Regulations (MWBO) of the German Medical Association (Bundesärztekammer) “specialist training is undertaken in a structured form” [1]. In surveys conducted by the Young Radiology Forum of the German Roentgen Society in 2018 and 2020, physicians undergoing specialist training in radiology rated supervision with case discussion, a structured specialist training curriculum, and a fixed rotation schedule as the most helpful tools for successful specialist training [2] However, according to those surveyed, 63 % of all radiology training centers and 48 % of university hospitals did not have a structured training curriculum [2]. Even though a “structured program for specialist training [...] must be provided” (Model Specialist Training Regulations § 5 (6) [1]) when applying for specialist training authorization, physicians undergoing specialist training are apparently not sufficiently aware of these structured programs. Moreover, the scope and depth of existing local curricula vary which is a disadvantage with respect to ensuring a uniformly high training standard. To date, a national interdisciplinary curriculum that is supported by the professional societies has been realized by only a few disciplines in Germany. General medicine has had a national specialist training curriculum since 2015 [3], while cardiology’s national specialist training curriculum was introduced in 2013 [4] and updated in 2020. In particular, the general medicine curriculum has been used to increase not only the quality of specialist training as a result of the improved structure but also the popularity of specialist training in general medicine.

To improve the quality of specialist training in radiology and to support authorized specialist trainers and physicians undergoing specialist training, the Young Radiology Forum together with the working groups of the German Roentgen Society, the German Society for Interventional Radiology and Minimally Invasive Therapy, the German Society for Neuroradiology, and the Society for Pediatric Radiology developed a national specialist training curriculum for radiology (https://www.forum-junge-radiologie.de/de-DE/4927/curriculum/).

^* Specialist Training Task Force, Young Radiology Forum.

Publication History

Received: 07 July 2021

Accepted: 09 March 2022

Article published online:
29 July 2022

• References

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