Assessment of the real MDT teaching model in medical imaging internship: an educational-oriented study

Abstract Objectives To investigate whether the real multidisciplinary team (MDT) teaching mode can improve the learning effectiveness of interns majoring in medical imaging. Materials and methods Prospective data from 58 medical imaging interns from July 2023 to January 2024 in a tertiary care radiology department were included. All interns were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or the control group using a random number table, with 29 interns in each group. The control group received the traditional teaching mode, whereas the experimental group was taught using a real MDT teaching model. Following the internship, the theoretical knowledge, practical reading skills, and clinical reasoning and decision test scores of the two groups were compared. Additionally, the teaching effectiveness and satisfaction of the two teaching modes were evaluated via questionnaires. Results The practical skills (24.03 ± 1.18), clinical reasoning and decision (25.72 ± 1.85), and total score (84.41 ± 2.77) of the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group (23.21 ± 1.37), (24.17 ± 1.14), and (82.72 ± 2.45), respectively. However, there was no statistically significant difference in theoretical knowledge score between the two groups (34.66 ± 2.44 vs 35.34 ± 1.45, p = 0.197). The questionnaire survey results indicated that the experimental group had a more favorable evaluation of the real MDT teaching mode compared to the control group ( p < 0.05). Moreover, the satisfaction rate of the experimental group with the teaching mode was significantly higher than that of the control group (χ 2 = 12.301, p = 0.002). Conclusions The real MDT teaching model improves interns’ clinical competencies, self-learning, teamwork, and overall educational satisfaction, showing promising utility in medical imaging training. Key Points Question The traditional teaching mode of radiology internship lacks interdisciplinary integration, which limits the clinical reasoning ability of interns. Findings Compared with the traditional teaching mode, the real MDT teaching mode in this study significantly improved the practical skills, clinical reasoning ability, and satisfaction of interns. Critical relevance statement The new interdisciplinary teaching model significantly improves the teaching effectiveness of radiology interns and helps cultivate their reasoning ability to combine imaging findings with clinical practice. This model is expected to be embedded in the intern training system.