Pediatric radiology mission work: opportunities, challenges and outcomes

Excerpt

The lack of access to imaging studies and radiologic expertise is a global issue receiving increasing attention in the news media [1, 2]. The need for radiologists to apply their interpretive skills and interventional techniques to children in resource-poor areas is global, with major medical resource and disease discrepancies (Fig. 1). The desire to care for children with medical needs is a common impulse among pediatric health care workers. As aptly put by Shaywitz and Ausiello [3], “It is difficult to imagine a pursuit more closely aligned with the professional values and visceral instincts of doctors than the quest to improve global health.” A recent survey noted that 72% of radiology residents had interest in doing such work, but only 4% of radiology residency programs offered elective international aid experiences [4]. In our discussions with other pediatric radiologists, it seems that this nearly universal desire to participate in global outreach efforts is often hampered by a lack of knowledge as to how to get started.

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