Abstract

Background: Although the last few years showed growth in the role of interventional radiology (IR) in treating various conditions, the specialty faces several difficulties including a shortage of interventional radiologists and inadequate awareness among undergraduate students because of the limited exposure during medical school. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the level of knowledge and awareness of IR among Clinical Years Medical Students of Umm Al-Qura University.

Methodology: This was a cross-sectional, survey-based study at Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, which included 358 medical students.

Results: Most of the participants rated their knowledge of IR as either adequate or poor (39.1% each), and 7.3% reported that they knew nothing about IR, while 3.4% responded that they had excellent knowledge of IR. Many of the respondents (58.7%) were not interested in considering a career in IR. Only a few students (10.3%) received elective radiology training. Additionally, 55% thought the correct route for training interventional radiologists was from both surgical and radiological fields, while 36% thought they were only radiologically trained.

Conclusion: This study demonstrated that medical students' knowledge and awareness of IR are poor. This can be improved by rotations, electives, and attendance at IR conferences, which will increase undergraduate awareness and promote IR as a career.

Key words: Future career, interventional radiology, knowledge, medical specialists.