Aligning the Implicit Curriculum with the Explicit Curriculum in Radiology

Keith D. Herr*, Elizabeth George, Vikas Agarwal, Colin D. McKnight, Liwei Jiang, Anugayathri Jawahar, Mini Pakkal, Adam Ulano, Dhakshinamoorthy Ganeshan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

Physician education occurs through two mechanisms that operate in tandem: the explicit and the implicit curriculum. The explicit, or formal, curriculum is the official version that is usually taken as the one-and-only curriculum and which is detailed in official documentation; however, an implicit curriculum exists, comprised of subtle messaging about professional norms, values, and beliefs that are tacitly communicated through both positive and negative role modeling. Both contribute to the overall education of the medical student and physician-in-training. Despite its well-documented influence in medical education, much of the teachings of the implicit curriculum occurs in the shadows, unspoken and unarticulated, and outside the awareness of both teacher and student. As panel members of the The Implicit Curriculum in Radiology Task Force of the Association of University Radiologists-Radiology Research Alliance (AUR-RRA), we present a review of the implicit curriculum, exploring its origin and impact on medical education, and on the overall professional development of medical students, post-graduate medical trainees and practicing physicians. Strategies for recognizing and contending with the implicit curriculum in radiology training are discussed, with a special emphasis on opportunities to leverage its potential through positive role modeling.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1268-1273
Number of pages6
JournalAcademic radiology
Volume27
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2020

Funding

Funding: This study was supported by MD Anderson Cancer Center Support Grant No. NIH/NCI P30 CA016672 from the National Cancer Institute , National Institutes of Health . Funding: This study was supported by MD Anderson Cancer Center Support Grant No. NIH/NCI P30 CA016672 from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. All the authors confirm that this manuscript has not been published previously, and that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere including electronically in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder.

Keywords

  • Implicit curriculum
  • hidden curriculum
  • medical student education
  • professionalism
  • radiology
  • residency education

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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