The traditional model of residency education in radiology, which has prevailed since the first residency programs in radiology were established in the 1930s, has included independent or autonomous after-hours coverage, in which radiology residents provide after-hours interpretations independently. Under this scenario, referring clinicians base their care decisions on the radiology residents’ preliminary interpretations, which are accepted as being subject to revision following attending radiologist review. Radiology residents receive delayed supervision by attending radiologists, most commonly the following morning, at which time any errors uncovered are remediated.
This standard practice has been frequently evaluated and is generally accepted as being extremely safe for patients, with a very low rate of significant resident errors and creating no appreciable increased risk of patient harm resulting from the residents’ role.
