Competency-based Learning, Evaluation & Assessment in Real-time for Interventional Radiology (CLEAR-IR): Assessing Current Feedback Practices and Anticipated Utility of a New Tool

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

3:45 PM - 3:54 PM ET

Location: 714B

Presenting Author(s)

Jonah N. Sens, MD

Interventional Radiology Resident
MedStar Georgetown University Hopsital/MedStar Washington Hospital Center , United States

Author/Co-author(s)

Clark R. Restrepo, MD (he/him/his)

Resident Physician
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, United States
RP

Rahil Patel, BS

Medical Student
George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, United States
JC

John T. Cardella, MD

Program Director
Vascular and Interventional Radiology Residency, Division of Interventional Radiology, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, United States
GS

Gajan Sivananthan, MD

Attending physician
Medstar Washington Hospital Center, United States

Purpose: To evaluate perceptions of the existing feedback system among faculty and trainees within an IR program and to assess the perceived value of implementing CLEAR-IR, a competency-based assessment tool that allows for real-time documentation of the clinical and technical proficiency demonstrated by trainees during procedures through integration into the procedural dictation workflow.

Materials and Methods: A new tool was developed to allow for assessment of trainee performance based on clearly defined, PGY-specific competencies. Prior to implementation, an anonymous electronic survey was conducted among faculty and trainees in a program that includes two academic centers. Respondents were asked multiple Likert-style (5-point scale) questions regarding various aspects of the current feedback system, and the likelihood CLEAR-IR would lead to improvements. These questions were grouped into categories, and the responses were averaged for each respondent to generate a composite score within each category. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and composite scores were compared between faculty and trainee groups using a non-parametric test for ordinal data (Mann-Whitney U).

Results: 15 trainees (100%) and 13 attendings (86.6%) completed the survey. Mean composite scores for questions assessing the current feedback system were 3.23 ± 0.66 for faculty and 3.58 ± 0.81 for trainees (p=0.32), with comparable scores among PGY1–4 (3.74 ± 0.74) and PGY5-7 residents (3.51 ± 0.94, p=0.56). For anticipated benefits of CLEAR-IR, mean scores were 4.17 ± 0.76 for faculty and 4.09 ± 0.83 for residents (p=0.71), with a trend toward higher perceived utility among PGY1–4 (4.43 ± 0.42) vs PGY5–7 (3.74 ± 1.02; p=0.17). Regarding the current feedback system, the lowest-rated items among faculty were awareness of trainees’ medical knowledge (2.62 ± 0.96) and technical ability (2.69 ± 0.85) at the start of a rotation, and for residents it was awareness of performance relative to peers (2.93 ± 1.38). The highest-rated anticipated benefits were providing more effective critical feedback and improving standardization for faculty (4.38 ± 0.87) and improved quality (4.14 ± 0.95) and timeliness (4.07 ± 1.10) of formative feedback for residents.

Conclusion: Composite scores related to the existing feedback system were moderate and similar for trainees and attending physicians, highlighting opportunities to make improvements on current practices. Both trainees and faculty rated the anticipated utility of the new electronic tool highly and identified specific areas of particularly high perceived benefit.