Program Summary
Diagnostic radiology is a four-year training program and requires a clinical year of accredited training in internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery or surgical specialties, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, family practice, emergency medicine, or an accredited transitional year. We match for 10 residents each year.
The extensive educational and health care facilities of New York University Medical Center provide the resources for our wide variety of training programs in Radiology. There are three contiguously located teaching hospitals (Tisch Hospital, Bellevue Hospital and Manhattan Veterans Administration Hospital), plus the Hospital for Joint Diseases which is a 10 minute walk from the main campus. Each institution has a full service, state of the art radiology department including Nuclear Medicine, Ultrasound and Computed Tomography. The Tisch MR facility has 5 MR units (three 1.5 T units, one 1.0 T units and one 0.25 T open unit); Bellevue has two 1.5 T units, and the VA has a 1.5 T unit.
The four large institutions provide access to a broad spectrum of disease and a diverse patient population. The institution in which the resident rotates for each month of subspecialty training is specifically selected to maximize the residents' learning experience and graded responsibility. The assignment of residents to each of the hospitals is based on the volume, type and variety of clinical material available as it relates to the resident's level of experience and expertise. Rotation assignments are also selected to take advantage of the different case mixes within each institution, exposing residents to a wide range of pathology.
Preceptorship clinical training is primarily organized by organ system, conforming to the system used by the American Board of Radiology. Exceptions to this approach are the more technology-specific rotations, which, due to their unique complexities, require the acquisition of directed expertise and hands-on experience in specific techniques. These rotations include CT, MR, Nuclear Medicine, US and to a lesser extent Vascular-Interventional Radiology. Some rotations such as Emergency Radiology and Pediatric Radiology are more general in nature. We enjoy a favorable faculty-resident ratio, which guarantees a high level of resident supervision.
As the residents gain knowledge and experience, and develop decision-making and diagnostic skills, they are permitted to gradually assume greater responsibility commensurate with their ability and confidence. It must be emphasized, however, that the ultimate responsibility for performing, interpreting and reporting the official findings of every study always remains with the supervising faculty member.
Daily clinical training is complemented with an extensive array of conferences. The topics of the daily midday (noon) departmental conference are selected so that departmental sections representing each subspecialty presents approximately twice each month. These conferences are supplemented by subspecialty section daily and weekly 7:30 and 4/5:00 conferences. One noon conference a month is reserved for Informatics lectures. Noon conferences are mandatory; residents are strongly encouraged to attend the specialty conferences, particularly when they are rotating through that specialty. Having residents attend conferences in fields other than that of their subspecialty rotation helps to insure a continuously diverse experience, encourages reading on a wide variety of topics, and provides a rich environment for integration of knowledge and greater insight into disease management. The experience also helps teach the residents to relate to other physicians as consultants.
Facilities for independent interactive learning are provided for by the ACR Teaching Files (in CD multimedia computer format). Direct internet access is available at Bellevue and Tisch hospitals for accessing on-line teaching files, other teaching aids and medical reference sources. A new secure residents room with 5 PCs (all with full intra-institutional network access) has been built at Bellevue. All residents attend the AFIP. The faculty also tries to encourage and provide opportunities for clinical research through the relationships established with the faculty and clinical departments. Projects in which residents participate are presented to the entire department at a Residents Day Seminar in June.
In summary, the goal of the faculty is to provide a carefully balanced exposure to training in each of the subspecialty disciplines of diagnostic radiology. Concentrated subspecialty training is offered at the post-residency level rather than during residency. We strive to cultivate an educational environment in which there is a close relationship between radiology faculty and residents, and encourage extensive interactions with the clinical departments. The development of these intra- and extra- departmental relationships is fostered by having the resident gradually assume greater responsibility while progressing through the sequence of rotation assignments distributed over the four training period. This progression starts with initial obligatory preceptorships and gradually advances to more independent activity with discriminatory consultation. This process aids in the synthesis and correlation of the diagnostic radiologic sciences and clinical medicine as they relate to patient care. It should be emphasized that trainees are never assigned responsibilities for which he/she has not yet had sufficient training and exposure.
The NYU Residency Training Program in Radiology has a long and proud history of uninterrupted full accreditation by the ACGME.
