History

In early 2010, the Department of Radiology in the College of Medicine at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, began developing the Emergent/Critical Care Imaging SIMulation (SIM) as the assessment component of the Wisdom in Diagnostic Imaging Program, a multi-faceted and fully-integrated online assessment, education, and remediation program for diagnostic radiology residents.

The SIM was designed in direct response to the implementation of The Diagnostic Radiology Milestone Project, a joint initiative by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and The American Board of Radiology (ABR). The Milestones provide a framework for the assessment of the development of the resident physician in key dimensions of the elements of physician competency in a specialty or subspecialty.

The SIM provides program directors with an objective assessment of resident competence in the area of Emergent Imaging and affirmation of Milestone achievement, as it relates to Medical Knowledge (Interpretation) and Interpersonal/Communication Skills. In the event that weaknesses are identified, program directors can utilize other components of the WIDI program to provide appropriate education and remediation in a timely and targeted manner. This includes WIDI Learn, WIDI Teach and remediation simulations.

In late 2010, the Department of Radiology joined forces with the American College of Radiology (ACR) to electronically manage SIM cases in the ACR’s Radiology Case Management System (RCMS) and to electronically deliver the SIM using state-of-the-art educational tools and web-based cloud technology.