Background

Medical students’ skills in radiographic image interpretation is neither known nor assessed in the case of most medical schools in Brazil.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to assess intern students’ performance in the interpretation of radiographic images of the chest and abdomen.

Methods

A 10-item test was developed using non-contrasted radiological images from the chest and abdomen. Internship students from two public medical schools (Classroom Group, n=50) and doctors (Control Group, n=20) answered the test. A third group (Online Group, n=38) composed of students from different medical schools answered a web-based form with the same 10-item test.

Results

Doctors and students were able to accurately interpret only 30% of the radiographic images; 50% of the students and 30% of the doctors performed poorly. The rest produced average levels of performance. There were minimal differences between the Classroom and Online Groups. A point-by-point analysis of their answers has been presented and discussed.

Conclusion

Efforts must be made, including the framing of medical curricula interventions, to improve student interns’ skills in radiological image interpretation.

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