The diagnostic radiology residency program director at the University of Michigan Medical School, Kara Udager, MD, is passionate about education.
That commitment was the inspiration for her involvement with The Radiology Vault, a YouTube account that she and colleagues from the department’s education team established two years ago to help residents and medical school students.
The venture has been a success, with videos getting hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of views. The team had 72 videos posted by mid-October with a goal of doubling that by next June.
Kara Udager, MD, is the diagnostic radiology residency program director at the University of Michigan Medical School.
“It started with the idea that we were doing this for our residents,” said Dr. Udager, who’s also MSK division director at Michigan Medicine and a clinical associate professor of radiology at the University of Michigan Health System. “We wanted to have exceptional information available for them.”
The videos, which were recorded by experts from the University of Michigan Department of Radiology, average around 10 minutes. The lengthiest, which covers MRI/CT of primary liver cancer, clocks in at 19:32.
“We didn’t want lengthy lectures that are difficult to navigate,” Dr. Udager said. “We wanted concise videos with a focused subject that still allows a deep dive into the content.”
With radiology experts everywhere on campus, Dr Udager and her cohorts have been successful recruiting physicians to do the videos.
“We are fortunate to have such outstanding colleagues,” she said. “We have so many faculty members with expertise that they want to share.”
The content has attracted more than residents. Physicians from all stages of their careers have been watching.
“We’ve been impressed with how many people are out there watching videos,” she said. “People are leaving very positive comments, and you can tell they’re looking for more. It’s been encouraging.”
ABR Trustee Kate Maturen, a colleague of Dr. Udager at the University of Michigan, isn’t surprised that the project has been a success. She said Dr. Udager’s selfless approach to education was the inspiration.
“Kara takes on new projects and opportunities with her mind on the people she is serving,” she said. “It is never about her. This is an outward-facing look at the exceptional effort and quality that goes into radiology education at UM and the residency she runs so well.”
Dr. Udager also has been an ABR volunteer. For six years, she was on the committee that writes questions for the MSK portion of the Diagnostic Radiology (DR) Certifying Exam. She hopes to soon join a committee that produces content for the DR Qualifying (Core) Exam.
She was encouraged to become a volunteer by Dr. Maturen and Reed Dunnick, MD, who served as the ABR’s Board President and chair of the University of Michigan’s radiology department.
“I knew that I wanted to be a part of the education team since I started my training at Michigan, and I have been lucky to be a part of this group,” Dr. Udager said. “Some of my mentors recommended the ABR as an excellent organization through which to be involved with education at a national level.”
A former rower at Yale University, Dr. Udager understands the importance of teamwork. A soccer player in high school, she was recruited to join the women’s crew team after arriving on campus.
The lessons she learned through working out twice a day, sometimes as early as 5 a.m., practicing, and competing in high-pressure events still positively impacts her career.
“Teamwork is a central aspect of it,” she said of rowing. “It was always about the team first and working as hard as you could to pull your weight. That experience shaped me.
Dr. Maturen agrees that her friend’s dedication to her work is rooted in her college athletics career. It takes acting in concert to make projects like The Radiology Vault successful. Dozens have contributed their talents and subject-matter knowledge for the greater good.
“Kara maintains an ethos of teamwork and collaborative success,” Dr. Maturen said. “The goal of this project is to freely share knowledge and bring radiology learners around the world together across the finish line.”
