Saudi Medical Students' Perspectives on the Radiology Curriculum

Introduction The importance of radiological technology in healthcare is indisputable in diagnosing and treating many diseases, yet undergraduate radiology education globally remains inadequate. Worldwide, students express dissatisfaction with radiology education, underscoring the need for improvement in this aspect. Saudi Arabia's medical system lacks a unified radiology curriculum, necessitating robust curriculum development, which should be addressed by the Council of Deans of Saudi Medical Schools. This study aims to assess Saudi medical students' perceptions of radiology education. Methods This is an observational cross-sectional study conducted in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) among undergraduate medical students from King Faisal University (KFU) and Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (IAU). The study used an online survey to assess medical students' perspectives regarding the radiology curriculum, the adequacy of the students' exposure to various imaging modalities, and their confidence in evaluating radiological images. Subjective parameters were measured using a four-point Likert scale, and the results are presented as percentages of students. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 29 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results The current paper encompassed 845 participants, revealing a gender distribution of 56.7% (n = 479) female and 43.3% (n = 366) male. Notably, 39.2% (n = 331) and 29.6% (n = 250) aimed for medical and surgical clinician roles, respectively. By contrast, 27.8% (n = 235) expressed uncertainty about their future plans, and only 3.4% (n = 29) intended to pursue radiology as a future career. In evaluating students' perspectives on the radiology curriculum, more than half of the students (59.4%, n = 502) stated that the amount of radiology education included in their curriculum was inadequate, while 35.7% (n = 302) stated that it was just right, and only 4.9% (n = 41) stated that it was too much. A substantially larger proportion of KFU students (65.2%, n = 334) perceived their clinical exposure to be inadequate compared to IAU students (50.5%, n = 168). Furthermore, a larger percentage of IAU students (46.8%, n = 156) reported "just right" exposure levels compared to KFU students (28.5%, n = 146). This disparity is statistically significant (p < 0.001). Our study demonstrated that X-ray imaging is the most encountered modality during clinical rotations, with 87.2% (n = 737) of students reporting exposure, followed by CT scans (75.2%, n = 636). Conclusion The majority of Saudi medical students in the Eastern Province reported an "inadequate" level of exposure to radiology. By identifying shortcomings and inadequacies in the current system, the research may provide a foundation for future improvements, ensuring that medical graduates in the Eastern Province possess the requisite knowledge for competent and safe clinical practice.