Pediatric radiology mission work: opportunities, challenges and outcomes

The lack of access to imaging studies and radiologic expertiseis a global issue receiving increasing attention in the news media. A recent survey noted that 72% of radiology residents had interest in doing such work, but only 4% of radiology residency programs offered elective international aid experiences [4]. In our discussions with other pediatric radiologists, it seems that this nearly universal desire to participate in global outreach efforts is often hampered by a lack of knowledge as to how to get started.Efforts to close the gap between theory and practice have been undertaken [5], and the purpose of this paper is to provide the tools for pediatric radiologists who are interested in participating in global outreach efforts to act.