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Diagnostic Imaging (Radiology) Residency

Radiology Residents hold appointments as Veterinary Resident Instructors. All of these appointments are funded by Texas A&M University to provide patient care and teaching assistance in the clinical programs of the College of Veterinary Medicine. All residents are expected to perform many of the same services and duties as senior faculty. Minimum requirements for applicants include a rotating internship or equivalent time in general practice. Applicants must meet requirements for either special or full licensure in Texas. These requirements include either graduation from and AVMA accredited college of veterinary medicine or having certification by the AVMA's Education Commission for Foreign Veterinary Graduates (ECFVG) or the Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education (PAVE).

The diagnostic imaging (radiology) residency is a three-year program designed to prepare the individual for successful completion of the American College of Veterinary Radiology (ACVR) qualifying and certifying exams and for competent entry level skills as a radiologist. This accredited program meets or exceeds all specifications mandated for training by the ACVR.

Resident Mentor

The resident will be assigned a resident mentor.

Responsibilities of Resident mentor

  1. Advise resident about preparation for and meeting the requirements of ACVR qualification and certification
  2. Advise resident about options for career plans and professional development
  3. Provide guidance for completion of scheduled requirements according to guidelines established by the Radiology section.

Responsibilities of Radiology Residency Program Director

  1. Ensure residents are aware of all requirements and responsibilities of the residency program
  2. Ensure residents are aware of all requirements and responsibilities for registration, qualification, and certification by ACVR.
  3. Administrate regularly biannual reviews of resident's performance and progress.

Overview of Clinical Program

The resident is assigned to clinical duty for at least 30.5 months of the training program. Up to 5.5 months of the program are designated for research, teaching, studying and vacation. When the resident is assigned to clinical duty, he/she will be under the direct supervision of the radiologist on duty until after he/she passes the qualifying boards. All preliminary reports along with the radiographs/studies are reviewed daily during rounds. During the entire program, the cases dictated by the resident will always be reviewed at least once by a supervising radiologist. The resident will not be expected to supervise a clinical service without backup until after they pass the qualifying board examination.

There are six clinical imaging services:

  • Small animal diagnostic radiology
  • Large animal diagnostic radiology
  • Small Animal Ultrasound
  • Large Animal Ultrasound
  • MRI/Computed Tomography
  • Nuclear Medicine

There is always a radiologist assigned to each of these services, except large animal ultrasound. The same radiologist may be assigned to two of these services at once. The large animal ultrasound service is run by 3 ACVIM diplomates with extensive experience in this area. The resident will rotate through this service as well but will not be directly supervised by an ACVR diplomate. Rotation in large animal ultrasound will likely be combined with large animal diagnostic radiology as they are physically in close proximity. Large and small animal radiology duty may run concurrently in some instances. Remaining clinical time will be distributed in the remaining imaging areas as dictated by the ACVR accreditation process.

Interventional and Special Radiographic Procedures

The radiology resident will perform daytime myelograms and all gastrointestinal/urinary contrast studies with radiologist oversight. All ultrasound-, fluoroscopic-, and CT-guided aspirates/biopsies will be performed by radiology.

Nuclear Medicine

The resident will assist in nuclear medicine studies and will dictate nuclear medicine cases with the supervision of the radiologist during the rotation in that area.

Resident Teaching responsibilities

The resident may be expected to give one lecture in the 2nd year veterinary student lecture course given during the spring semester, as well as assist in the film reading laboratories associated with that class. During the second and third years (except during board preparation time), the resident will be expected to share the duty of daily 4th year student rounds in the clinic. This usually takes the form of case presentations and discussion by the students. The resident will not be required to participate in any continuing education short courses but would be allowed to do so if he/she wished.

Clinical Conferences

Medicine Rounds/Seminars

The radiology resident will be required to attend and participate in the house officer (resident/intern) seminar series. These seminars are 20-50 minute scientific presentations directed at research or medical topic review. The radiology resident is expected to deliver 3 lectures in this seminar series during the residency.

Known case conference

These rounds will be held twice a month and will be based on the format of the ACVR oral board examination. A radiologist will prepare "known" cases to be interpreted by the resident.

Radiology Journal Club

Weekly the resident will participate in discussion of recent literature with the faculty radiologists.

Daily Radiology Case Review Rounds

Each day, the supervising radiologist in either large animal radiology or small animal radiology as well as the resident and any other radiologists that can attend will review the preliminary reports and cases from the preceding days in those areas as well as in ultrasound, nuclear medicine and CT/MRI. In this manner, the resident will be able to view all cases as well as receive constructive criticism on their reports.

Didactic Training

No formal didactic training will be required. Instead, the resident will have assigned topics of focused learning during their training program. A radiologist will be assigned to supervise and guide the residents study on each topic (via informal lectures, reading lists, etc). At the end of each section, a comprehensive written exam will be administered.

Externships

No formal externships are planned for this program.

Resident Research Project

The resident is expected to complete a prospective research project and present the findings at a national meeting during his/her final year. The resident is expected to write a research proposal which will be evaluated by a committee of at least 3 faculty members (one member must be a radiologist). The committee should be selected by December of the first year and the proposal should be submitted to the committee by February of the first year. The research should be completed during the second year and a manuscript should be written and submitted to a refereed publication by the end of the third year.

Resident Evaluation

The resident will be reviewed every 6 months throughout the residence. The residency director will solicit input from all faculty and will provide and analysis of the resident's ability, capabilities, and productivity which will be in written form as well as verbally communicated to the resident. As part of this evaluation, performance on the didactic examinations will also be included. This evaluation will become part of the resident's permanent file. Input is sought from our staff, faculty, and house officers from other services. The review will be discussed with the resident in a formal meeting with the section chief and/or program director. Residents are given the opportunity to respond to this evaluation, also included as part of the record.

Appointment

The academic rank of the resident will be Veterinary Resident Instructor. Reappointment for each year will be decided by the Radiology section and the Head of the department

Stipends and Benefits

  1. Stipends are determined annually by the Head of the Department. They are Standard for all residents in the Department of Large Animal Medicine & Surgery and typically increase with each year of service.
  2. Residents may participate in the University's medical-surgical insurance program.
  3. All courtesies, such as athletic ticket purchases, use of university facilities, parking permits, etc., are the same as for other faculty.

Certificate of Completion of Program

A certificate of completion of the residency program will be presented to the resident upon successful completion of the 3-year radiology residency program.

Please contact Dr. Benjamin Young (byoung@cvm.tamu.edu or 979-219-3206), Residency Program Director, with any questions.