The American College of Radiology (ACR), Reston, Va, and the Society of Breast Imaging (SBI), Reston, Va, have released a new breast imaging training curriculum, which is intended to provide guidance to academic chairs, residency program directors, academic section chiefs, residents, breast imaging fellows and even radiologists already in practice.

An outline of bulleted lists, the curriculum is covers many areas relevant to the practice of breast imaging. Some listed items involve aspects of breast imaging practices not universally available in academic or community practice, including full-field digital mammography, computer-aided detection and breast MRI.

The curriculum also includes documents that residents and fellows should be familiar with, including Breast Imaging Data and Reporting System (BI-RADS) established by the ACR.
ACR and SBI note that the selection of textbooks and other learning materials is left to the discretion of trainers and trainees. They also note that the curriculum omits recommendations on the number of breast imaging exams and procedures that residents and fellows should perform during training.

A typical section of the new curriculum includes:

Therapeutic and management considerations:

-Basic understanding of breast cancer treatment options
-Role of breast imaging in planning and monitoring of breast cancer treatment and post-treatment follow-up
-ACR Practice Guideline for the Management of Ductal Carcinoma In-Situ of the Breast (DCIS) (3)
-ACR Practice Guideline for Breast Conservation Therapy in the Management of Invasive Breast Carcinoma (3)
-ACR Appropriateness Criteria for: Breast Microcalcifications; Nonpalpable Breast Masses; Palpable Breast Masses; Stage I Breast Carcinoma (8)

For more information see http://www.acr.org/.