Survey Cohort Demographics
We conducted an anonymised survey of the 71 attendees at the National Interventional Radiology Symposium 2019, a day conference designed for medical students and junior doctors interested in IR. This is a self-selected cohort who had chosen to attend our event and are therefore presumed to be a highly motivated group interested in IR.
The survey considered objective measures of exposure to IR and careers advice during medical school as well as subjective opinions of delegates regarding the adequacy of IR teaching and extra-curricular opportunities available. In addition we canvassed attendees on their likelihood to pursue a career in IR.
We received 70 responses giving a response rate of 99%. 66 out of 70 responses were included in our data analysis; four were excluded as the respondents were overseas medical graduates. 58% of respondents were male, 41% were female and one did not specify their gender. 30% of respondents were medical students whilst the remaining 70% were doctors, with the largest group being second year foundation doctors Fig. 2 . Between the respondents there was representation from 24 medical schools across the UK Fig. 3 .
IR Exposure at Medical School
There is very low exposure to IR at medical school (covering teaching, clinical placements and student selected components) with 61% of delegates reporting no exposure to IR and another 11% reporting only one day equivalent of exposure Fig. 4 . These figures include medical students who have not yet completed their training at medical school, however even when excluding medical students, 59% of doctors still reported no IR exposure and 9% reported one day equivalent of IR exposure at medical school. In addition, the majority of respondents reported that their subjective level of exposure to IR at medical school was insufficient Fig. 5 .
Despite overall IR exposure being low, there is disparity across respondents with some reporting up to 30 days of IR exposure at medical school. When looking at the 17% of delegates who reported between 15-30 days of IR exposure, 100% of these respondents stated they had achieved this through self-selected components and electives during medical school rather than it being a core component of the curriculum.
Implications of IR Exposure at Medical School
Some respondents have delayed awareness and interest in IR, with 20% of respondents only first becoming aware of IR in foundation training and 37% only becoming interested in IR in foundation or higher level training Fig. 6 . Looking at those exposed compared to those not exposed to IR at medical school there was a significant difference (p<0.001) in the stage of training that respondents first became interested in IR. 92% of those exposed to IR first became interested in IR at medical school compared to only 45% of those without exposure to IR Fig. 7 .
There is a lack of IR career advice with 30% of respondents having never received advice on pursuing a career in IR Fig. 8 . Looking at those exposed compared to those not exposed to IR at medical school there was a significant difference (p<0.01) in the likelihood of having received IR specific career advice. 92% of those exposed to IR had received IR specific career advice compared to only 55% of those without exposure to IR Fig. 9 .
These findings suggest medical schools can play a key role in increasing awareness and interest in IR, as well as providing IR specific career advice.
IR Exposure Outside Medical School
There is demand for greater opportunities to gain insight into IR outside of medical school. 40% of delegates stated there are insufficient extra-curricular opportunities and another 40% were unsure whether there are sufficient extra-curricular opportunities Fig. 10 . 97% of delegates also expressed a desire to see a website dedicated to providing information on IR for students and junior doctors.
Greater exposure to IR through extra-curricular events targeted towards medical school students and junior doctors could also help increase recruitment into IR. The number of respondents likely or very likely to pursue a career in IR increased from 66% prior to the event to 78% after attending our event Fig. 11 .