Skip to main content
Letter
Policy, Quality, and Practice Management
July 5, 2023

Future-Ready Radiology Needs the Values and Skillset of Generation Z … and the Other Generations

Please see the accompanying Reply by Eric D. Cyphers, Erwin de Leon, and Nolan J. Kagetsu.
I read with interest the Viewpoint by Cyphers et al. [1] describing the unique attributes of the first class of Generation Z—also called Gen Z, postmillennials, Zoomers, and iGen-ers—to be matched as radiology residents. I agree with the authors that future Gen Z radiologists need to be welcomed and that the entire workforce should learn from Gen Z's technology savviness.
The title “Generation Z and the Radiology Workforce: Ready or Not, Here I Come,” especially use of the singular form in “here I come” instead of the plural “here we come” captures a sentiment that non–Gen Z radiologists are observing during increased interaction with Gen Z. This is reflective of the often encountered subjective and personalized argumentative style that Gen Z seems to prefer. Unlike those of millennials and other preceding generations, Gen Z's experience and conclusions are usually drawn from a combination of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) information plus personal experience [2]. Thus, Gen Z's thinking often revolves around the self in the context of their immediate environment. It therefore is no surprise that Gen Z's knowledge encompasses vast societal and environmental topics that are decisive for our future, such as sustainability and physical well-being, and psychosocial thought, such as altruism, intrinsic motivation, relationships, sexuality, and religious beliefs [3].
However, adopting opinions and knowledge that are predominantly personal and technology- and AI-driven bears the risk of introduction of bias if fundamental scientific basics and critical thinking, including ethical boundaries, are not adhered to. For example, so-called newly discovered technology-based knowledge might merely reflect a summary of mainstream online media content only; therefore, it is not novel. This kind of knowledge would have no significant meaning or impact on health care advancement. Furthermore, bias could also cause harm if extreme, popular albeit unethical or simply wrong opinions are being artificially emphasized and amplified, as seen in chatGPT output reflecting racist and misogynistic opinions that are common Internet content [4].
In conclusion, the radiology community, as part of medicine and science, must stay true to basic scientific principles no matter what medium is used to explore and to obtain new insights that will benefit all. Gen Z and non–Gen Z radiologists need to respectfully seize this opportunity to interact and collaborate to successfully amalgamate critical appraisal with AI and technology in the field of radiology. This collaboration will lead not only to higher job satisfaction and retention but also to better patient outcomes.

Footnote

Provenance and review: Not solicited; not externally peer reviewed.

References

1.
Cyphers ED, de Leon E, Kagetsu NJ. Generation Z and the radiology workforce: ready or not, here I come. AJR 2023; 221:274–275
2.
Katz R, Ogilvie S, Shaw J, Woodhead L. Gen Z, explained: the art of living in a digital age. University of Chicago Press, 2021
3.
Holzer BM, Ramuz O, Minder CE, Zimmerli L. Motivation and personality factors of Generation Z high school students aspiring to study human medicine. BMC Med Educ 2022; 22:31
4.
Hsu T, Thompson S. Disinformation researchers raise alarms about A.I. chat-bots. New York Times www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/technology/ai-chatbots-disinformation.html. Published Feb 8, 2023. Updated Feb 13, 2023. Accessed Mar 13, 2023

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

American Journal of Roentgenology
Pages: 397
PubMed: 37406206

History

First published: July 5, 2023

Authors

Affiliations

Hyun Soo Ko, MD
Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany, [email protected]

Notes

Version of record: Jul 5, 2023
The author declares that there are no disclosures relevant to the subject matter of this letter.

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Export Citations

To download the citation to this article, select your reference manager software.

Articles citing this article

Figures

Tables

Media

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share on social media