RSNA Partners with SIIM to Offer National Imaging Informatics Course

September 11, 2020 — The National Imaging Informatics Course-Radiology (NIIC-RAD) Term 1 will be held online September 28 - October 2, 2020. NIIC-RAD is made possible through a partnership between the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM).

“The National Imaging Informatics Course is a weeklong online course experience designed to teach radiology residents the fundamentals of imaging informatics,” said Tessa S. Cook, M.D., Ph.D., who developed the course along with Nabile Safdar, M.D., and Katherine Andriole, Ph.D., with support from Michael P. Recht, M.D.

Initially developed four years ago to introduce senior residents to the fundamentals of imaging informatics with emphasis on practical concepts and knowledge, the course has now expanded to non-resident participants, as well as the international community.

Course faculty come from programs all over the world and are experts in the field of imaging informatics.

NIIC-RAD covers not only the business aspects for the specialty, such as the basics of clinical workflow, the hardware and software requirements, standards and patient-centered radiology, but also hot topics like machine learning, data science and 3-D printing.

“Imaging informatics affects so much of how we take care of patients every day,” Cook said. “It’s important to have an understanding of these fundamental principles to be able to troubleshoot potentially when things go wrong, but also to have a better understanding of how our systems work.”

The course consists of a series of live lectures, small group discussions, and a set of enduring content that can be reviewed before or after the live sessions. There are pre- and post-course assessments and homework assignments throughout the week.

Aimed primarily at fourth-year radiology residents, the course may also benefit radiology trainees at all levels, radiology faculty, information technology experts, practicing physicians in other specialties and students from a variety of disciplines.

“This is the first time that imaging informatics education has been made available universally to residents around the world,” Cook said. “We really tried to leverage the concept of a massive open online course to bring the education to the learners rather than the other way around.”

To register: https://siim.org/page/niic_registration