Innovating on Post Training Education with MRI Online

Dan describes his past entrepreneurial experience, starting with the time he built an education marketplace within Google. He saw the potential of online education and the democratizing power that results when people are able to connect to experts via the Internet.
Alongside Dr. Stephen Pomeranz, Dan was able to connect this vision with radiology education. He first posted videos and case-based simulations online, and this project evolved into a website, MRI Online. A daily email newsletter served as effective advertising for subscription services. MRI Online content can now be used to fulfill CME credits.

The process of building educational content included collaboration with medical illustrators and audiovisual technicians. The first courses were centered around MRI, and the team launched them at a conference. Afterwards, they recruited faculty from multiple subspecialties to build a comprehensive curriculum covering musculoskeletal, neurological, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and breast imaging. The team had constructed a filming studio, but they were forced to pivot at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. They established a free online lecture series through Zoom, which garnered large attendance. From this pool, they were able to recruit an advisory board of radiologists, launch campaigns to find educational cases, and develop a robust content library.

Dan outlines factors that make MRI Online unique from other medical platforms. First, testing is not limited to multiple choice questions. Learners have the opportunity to dictate their own findings and submit recordings for feedback. This offers a more targeted experience. MRIOnline has also collaborated with institutions to incorporate their online content into their fellowship curricula. He ends the interview by discussing the changing landscape of education, noting that people are learning more through mobile devices and pursuing shorter bursts of daily learning.