Education

Residency Training

The Diagnostic Radiology residency program at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center/University Hospital has a long history of outstanding teaching and patient care. Our focus on resident education has been the foundation of this department since its inception and has continued under such luminary radiologists as Dr. Benjamin Felson, Dr. Jerome Wiot and Dr. Robert Lukin. This commitment to education has produced many renowned radiologists, both in the academic and private practice communities. Our residents are provided with comprehensive training in preparation for this journey, whether they wish to purse a subspecialty fellowship, join a private practice, or pursue an academic career. Our commitment to excellence and our educational legacy will offer you an opportunity to learn in a dynamic, clinically oriented program where residents and faculty work side by side in a friendly, nurturing and hard-working but low pressure environment.

Our program mission is to train competent clinical and academic radiologists focusing on the breadth and depth or contemporary diagnostic imaging with exposure to a wealth of fascinating case material. To accomplish our goals and pursue our mission, we value innovation, creativity and leadership. Our residents, given progressive and graded responsibility, are offered opportunities to develop the broad-based skills necessary to be outstanding radiologists.

General Information
- Fully ACGME accredited program
- Currently 32 residents from all over the country
- Eight residency positions per year
- Diverse fellowship trained faculty in each subspecialty of radiology
- Applicants are encouraged to schedule a radiology elective here to experience
the department first hand.

Facilities & Equipment
Residents in the Department of Diagnostic Radiology spend approximately 75% of their time at University Hospital, the sponsoring institution. Residents also rotate through Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, one of the premier pediatric facilities in the country, the VA Medical Center, and The Christ Hospital.

University Hospital: The residency program is primarily based at University Hospital, a 695-bed hospital with a diverse patient base, ranging from primary care to tertiary referrals and organ transplantation. University Hospital is also a Level I Trauma Center with Air Care and Mobile Care services. Affiliated with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, the facility offers the latest technological procedures and clinical trial medications, ensuring the best quality of care for our patients. The tradition of excellence consistently places University Hospital among the nation’s best in the prestigious US News & World Report annual guide to “America’s Best Hospitals.” Approximately 220,000 radiographic examinations are performed at the hospital each year.

- Dual Source 64 MDCT, 16 MDCT, 8 MDCT, PET/CT
- 2x 3T MRI, 2x 1.5T MRI, 0.3T Open MRI - Functional MRI (BrainLab),
MR Perfusion, MR Spectroscopy
- Portable Head CT scanner for the Neuro ICU
- 4 Interventional Radiology suites
- Dedicated 3D imaging lab (Cardiac CT, CT Angiography, CT Perfusion,
Virtual colonoscopy and bronchoscopy)
- Ultrasound, CR, Fluoroscopy
- State-of-the-art McKesson PACS
- PowerScribe voice transcription system

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center: CCHMC is among the top 3 pediatric hospitals in the United States. The Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging is the largest pediatric radiology department in the country and performs more than 200,000 examinations every year. Residents also cover multiple Cincinnati Children's outpatient sites throughout Greater Cincinnati.

- 3T MRI, 6x 1.5T MRI, 2x MDCT, PET/CT, SPECT/CT
- 2 Interventional Radiology suites
- 3 Fluoroscopy suites
- Ultrasound & CR
- GE Centricity PACS with integrated PowerScribe voice transcription. Upgrading
to AMICAS PACS with PowerScribe voice transcription..

Cincinnati Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center: The hospital provides surgical, medical and psychiatric services to eligible veterans in the Tristate area. The hospital is a key surgical referral center for central Ohio and primary teaching affiliate for UC's College of Medicine.

- 1.5T MRI, 64 MDCT with CT Fluoroscopy, 1 Interventional Radiology suite
- Ultrasound, Fluoroscopy, & CR
- VISTA PACS with PowerScribe voice transcription

Christ Hospital: 555-bed primary care facility, the hospital serves as a major teaching affiliate for UC's College of Medicine and practice site for certain UC physician groups and a local private practice radiology group setting.

Local outpatient centers:
Varsity Village Imaging Center: 1.5T MRI

University Pointe Imaging Center: 1.5T MRI, 64 MDCT, Ultrasound, & CR

UC Physicians Medical Arts Building: 64 MDCT, Fluoroscopy, Ultrasound, & CR

Wellington Diagnostics: 1.5T MRI

Westimage MRI: 3T MRI & 1.5T MRI

Education and Curriculum
Radiology residents will spend their first year creating a strong foundation in all areas of radiology with rotations in most specialties. The variety of patient care settings provides a wealth of experience with an outstanding case mix. It is upon this foundation that future years of education and growth are built. We believe
that the program is well-balanced with education in all areas of radiology. We continually assess the educational needs of the residents as the specialty of radiology evolves. The educational structure of the residency is based upon learning through patient cases and didactic teaching, both in the formal conference setting and through patient care. Our well-balanced series of rotations provides the resident with carefully structured progressive and graded responsibility in all nine of the subspecialty areas – neuroradiology, musculoskeletal radiology, vascular and interventional radiology, cardiothoracic radiology, breast radiology, abdominal radiology, pediatric radiology, ultrasonography (including obstetrical and vascular ultrasound) and nuclear radiology (including PET and nuclear cardiology).

Conferences and lectures
Teaching conferences are scheduled Monday through Friday. All radiology residents are expected to attend weekly core curriculum conferences.

-T-Meeting: The primary teaching conference, held daily from 12 Noon to
1:00 pm and is a mandatory lecture.
-AM Conferences: Morning conferences are held daily at 7:00 am for Bone,
Rheumatology, Hepatobiliary, Body Imaging, MRI, Neuroradiology, and
Interventional Radiology. The Friday morning MRI conference and the neuroradiology conferences are mandatory for all residents.
-Physics: Dedicated physics lecture series and review sessions to prepare for
the physics board exam.
-AFIP: All third-year residents in good academic standing are eligible to attend
the four-week radiology/pathology course offered by AFIP. The registration fee
and a lump sum per diem are provided.

Work Hours and Call Frequency
General daily resident working hours are 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, inclusive of required conferences. At University Hospital, residents are on call each night for ER, CT and Angio. Two residents cover ER and CT and are in-house; one resident covers angio call, which is taken from home. Cincinnati Children's call: Four calls during each pediatric radiology rotation (total of 5-6 rotations)

RAD1 (PGY-2)    No call
RAD2 (PGY-3)    6 weeks night float
RAD3 (PGY-4)    4 weeks night float
RAD4 (PGY-5)    3 weeks night float

Salary and Benefits
For a full description of salaries and benefits, please click here.

Additional Opportunities and Resources
Additional opportunities, which are made available to the resident, include research and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP). There are multiple research opportunities available at both University and Children's Hospitals. An Imaging Research Center, located at Children's, is an extensive research facility which houses a 3T Brucker research MR system.

First-year residents are provided with the Primer of Diagnostic Imaging and Brant and Helms Fundamentals of Diagnostic Radiology.

A one-time $1,500 educational allowance is provided for each resident at the beginning of the second year. This educational fund may be used for educational activities (board review course), laptop computer, journal subscriptions, textbook purchases or other educational materials.

Full reimbursement for educational trips is available to residents when they are the primary author of a presentation at a national meeting. Residents are also eligible for the RSNA’s Introduction to Research Program as well as the SCARD Introduction to Academic Radiology course.

In addition to hands-on learning, print and digital materials are available in the department library, which includes both journals and texts. Teaching files are available in film, videodisc, and CD-ROM format. The Donald Harrison Health Sciences Library houses additional 200,245 volumes with 5,594 journal titles and
is directly connected to the hospital. Electronic search services are available both in the Donald Harrison Health Sciences Library and in the department.

Application Process
The Radiology Department participates in the National Resident Match Program (NRMP). We accept applications only through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Therefore, you will need to apply through your medical school or through the ECFMG. In general, you will need to supply the following items:

Medical School transcript
MSPE/Dean's letter
Three (3) letters of recommendation
USMLE scores
Personal statement
Photograph (optional)

All residents must have completed a preliminary year of training in a US-accredited program prior to entering our residency. The Diagnostic Radiology residency does not include an integrated internship year. There are a number of clinical programs in the Cincinnati area in Internal Medicine and Surgery. Preliminary programs in internal medicine are available here at University Hospital in addition to Christ Hospital, Jewish Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital.

We accept applications from Sept. 1 until Dec. 31.

International Medical Graduates
IMGs interested in applying to our program must apply through ERAS. We do not accept paper or email applications. The Department of Radiology sponsors J-1 visas only. Individuals must have graduated from medical school within the past five years and completed one year of preliminary training in a US-accredited program recognized by the American Board of Radiology (ABR). IMG’s must possess a valid ECFMG certificate which requires passing all components of the USMLE exam as well as other examinations as required by the ECFMG. The ECFMG certificate must be valid at the start of residency or the resident forfeits his/her position in the program.

In addition to the documents listed above, IMG’s must also include in their application:

• Verification of ECFMG certification and photocopies of all exam results
• Copy of medical diploma (translation required)
• Medical School transcript
• Copies of certification of previous GME experience (translation required)
• Letter from residency program director verifying completion of one year of
training in a US-accredited program

Letters of recommendation must have been written within the previous six months.

Osteopathic Graduates
The Department of Radiology does accept DO graduates into the program. USMLE testing is highly recommended.

USMLE
Successful completion of USMLE Step 1 is required for application. Applications are reviewed in their entirety with no minimum score requirement; however, typical Step 1 USMLE scores for selected candidates range between 220 and 240. Passing scores on all components, including Clinical Skills, is required prior to the start of residency.

Interviews
Candidates selected for a personal interview will be notified through ERAS. We typically invite approximately 100 candidates for interviews. Our interview season is from November through January. We generally interview five candidates in the morning and five candidates in the afternoon on Tuesdays which gives us the opportunity to get to know you as best we can and to allow you to assess our program in a detailed way. Ample time is allowed to speak with our residents about their experiences in our program. Applicants will be invited to attend a dinner hosted by our residents the evening prior to their interview. Attendance is not required; however, it does provide an opportunity for applicants to interact with residents in an informal environment.