The UTHSCSA Diagnostic Radiology Residency

 

Congratulations on your decision to pursue a career in the field of Radiology; you have chosen a dynamic, challenging, and rewarding specialty. In no other area of contemporary medicine has the impact of technology been so great. Multislice CT scanners can freeze a beating heart, high field MRI allows diagnosis based on the chemical composition of tissues, and tumor-specific radionucleotides offer new ways to diagnose, monitor and even treat cancer. Nearly all aspects of medical practice depend on some sort of imaging today. As a result, the Radiology Department is now second only to the cafeteria as a gathering place for clinicians of all specialties, with the radiologist serving as consultant, diagnostician, and interventionalist.

 

 

Our goal is to provide you an opportunity to train with bright, enthusiastic colleagues in a friendly, supportive environment. To that end, we have assembled a faculty of experienced, talented, and dedicated subspecialists who not only enjoy their work but are committed to teaching and to excellence in patient care. The training programs are designed to obtain maximum benefit from the large volume of clinical material and the broad range of pathology encountered at the well equipped hospitals affiliated with the program. Our conference curriculum is well organized and is aimed at preparing residents for the written and oral board examinations. We are especially proud of our unique affiliation with the excellent military radiology programs in San Antonio. Although our residents do not rotate to the military hospitals, this arrangement effectively triples the size and variety of our teaching faculty and, in addition, allows the three institutions to share the expense of bringing in many nationally known visiting lecturers each year.

 

Combine all this with the many attractions and amenities of a large southwestern city with a year-round temperate climate, and you have the formula for a successful and enjoyable residency experience. We hope this website conveys a sense of the quality and convivial atmosphere of our department, and we look forward to receiving your application.

 

           

 

Our Program

The UTHSCSA Residency Program in Diagnostic Radiology is an integrated program utilizing the facilities and unique training opportunities available in the South Texas Medical Center, including University Hospital, the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital, the Cancer Therapy and Research Center, and Christus Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital. These practice sites provide a busy, diverse, and complementary clinical experience that facilitates education in all aspects of Diagnostic Radiology. The residency is a clinically oriented academic program which strives to provide the best training for physicians entering the practice of general Diagnostic Radiology or as a preparation for further training in subspecialty Diagnostic Radiology, Academic Radiology, or Radiology Research.

 

           

 

The Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program accepts 8 to 9 residents per year, chosen for their academic abilities and personality traits. Please see the letter from Dr. Dalrymple for further information about our application procedures.

 

For those interested in a research career please visit our Radiology Residency/Ph.D. Program.

 

 

The Health Science Center and affiliated hospitals were built in 1969 on 680 acres of ranch land on the north side of San Antonio, at the edge of the Texas Hill Country. The location is excellent, as all the surrounding development is relatively new and upscale. As a result, most residents and faculty have apartments or homes in desirable neighborhoods within 5 to 15 minutes of the Medical Center. Schools, shopping, recreation, and dining are all first rate in the area as well.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the dominant medical education institution in South Texas. With schools of medicine, dentistry, nursing, and allied health, the Health Science Center employees 1400 health professionals.
The Department of Radiology has approximately 45 faculty members, with 38 residents and 3 to 5 fellows in the Diagnostic Radiology Program. Administrative offices, research laboratories, photographic and other support services are located in the Medical School, along with educational facilities for students and residents. The Radiology Department has a dedicated state-of-the-art digital conference room with live internet videoconference capabilities and wireless computer access. The departmental library contains 1,800 volumes, which are constantly updated as new books and journals become available. The library also has several complete sets of ACR and other CD-ROM AND DVD-ROM teaching files with multiple viewing stations. In addition, the SCVIR vascular and interventional teaching video disks are available. All teaching materials can be checked out and viewed on home computers. Many slide-cassette lectures are also available, primarily from the teaching materials of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

 

A visit from Congress!
Representative Charles A. Gonzalez visits our department.

From left to right, Dr. Gerald Dodd III (chairman), Rep. Gonzales, Dr. William Philips, and Dr. William L. Henrich (Dean of UTHSCSA).

 

Curriculum

           

Training is organized by subspecialty, and the curriculum conforms to the American Board of Radiology and Residency Review Committee for Radiology guidelines. Rotations are four weeks in length with thirteen rotations each year.

During the first year, all residents rotate through the same core rotations; Thoracic Radiology, GI/GU Radiology, Musculoskeletal Radiology, Body CT/MRI, Ultrasound, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine. During the second year, residents gain additional experience in Interventional Radiology, Neuroradiology procedures, Pediatric Radiology and Breast Imaging. During the third and fourth years of training, residents receive further experience in all areas, with progressive assumption of greater responsibility.

Sufficient elective time is available to ensure that residents can obtain additional experience in areas of special interest.
Residents actively participate in patient care at all sites, but always under the supervision of a faculty radiologist, who is available for teaching and guidance in the various examination areas.

 

Two conferences are held each day. Ongoing subspecialty conferences occur at 7:30 AM. The daily noon conference is part of a formal radiological curriculum created in conjunction with the military radiology residency programs in San Antonio. Information is presented in a didactic format by the faculty of the Health Science Center, Brooke Army Medical Center, Wilford Hall Air Force Medical Center, and consultants who are invited from other academic centers (including guest lecturers from the AFIP.) All ten radiological subspecialties are covered in 10 months, with a month of physics and a month of summer (conference) vacation rounding out the year.

Senior residents are provided a comprehensive board’s review program four to five months prior to the oral boards. These focused boards review sessions occur several times weekly and are given by subspecialty faculty. A mock oral board examination also helps prepare senior residents for success.

 

Radiological Physics

Radiological Physics is taught during June and July under the direction of Wayne Wiatrowski, Ph.D.
The department also offers an annual refresher course in diagnostic physics for residents from across the country prior to the written board examinations.

 

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and other conferences

All residents are encouraged to go to the AFIP radiologic-pathologic correlation course. The Department provides $3,300 per resident which may be used for AFIP and books or other meetings. Some residents choose to attend a board examination review course in their senior year.

 

Nights and Weekends

Our current call system was developed by our residents. First year residents have no primary responsibility for emergency center coverage. They help cover pager call for angiography and interventional procedures, and assist with evening emergency center films. Most of the emergency center coverage is provided by the second and third year residents, with three residents on this rotation at a time. These residents have no daytime duties. On a rotating schedule, they cover the hospital from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM (faculty covers the emergency center during these hours), and the hospital and emergency center from 11:00 PM to 8:00 AM.

 

Fellowships

Fellowships are available following residency training in all clinical and research specialties including Abdominal Imaging, Breast Imaging, Musculoskeletal Radiology, MRI, and Chest Radiology. Fellowships in Angiography/Interventional Radiology, and Nuclear Medicine are approved by ACGME, and finishing fellows are eligible for the CAQ subspecialties examinations given by the American Board of Radiology.

 

Educational Facilities

Attached to the Medical School is University Hospital, with 460 adult and 100 pediatric beds and a busy Level 1 trauma center. The Radiology Department at University Hospital performs approximately 240,000 radiographic examinations per year, including the full range of diagnostic and interventional procedures.

 

 

Our other main teaching hospital, the Audie Murphy Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital, is connected by an over-the-street walkway from University Hospital. This 600 bed facility receives patients from a 41 county area encompassing most of South Texas and generates 100,000 radiologic examinations per year.

 

 

CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children's Hospital is a 200-plus bed facility, providing care to more than 150,000 children each year. The children's hospital features 24-hour, level two, emergency services, a pediatric rehabilitation unit, the Titanium Rib Project, a 16-room children's cancer and blood disorders center, a 7,000-square foot respite station, a pediatric hospice suite and specialized child life and child development services. Our club's primary donations go to the 8th Floor Cancer and Blood Disorder Center and the remaining donations are distributed to the other children's clinics on site.

 

The CTRC is a not-for-profit, multidisciplinary, outpatient clinic and research center. The CTRC and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) have formed a research consortium called the San Antonio Cancer Institute (SACI). This consortium is a National Cancer Institute (NCI)- designated Clinical Cancer Center. Through this affiliation, the CTRC's Institute for Drug Development (IDD) provides Phase I clinical trials to patients throughout the world. The IDD is one of a few cancer centers in the U.S. selected by the NCI to receive funding to conduct Phase I clinical trials of anticancer drugs. The IDD, in collaboration with UTHSCSA,works to accelerate the development of anticancer agents through the integration of basic, translational and clinical research.All of our teaching hospitals are well-managed, with excellent radiological equipment and facilities. The Radiology faculty provides teaching and supervision of resident patient care activity at both hospitals on an equal, interchangeable basis. Thus, not only can residents walk easily between the two hospitals to attend lectures and conferences, but they also receive the same quality of supervision and education at both locations.

 

In addition to Radiology research facilities located n the Medical School, the Research Imaging Center is located approximately three blocks away. Opened in 1992, the RIC occupies 33,000 square feet on 2 floors of the McDermott Clinical Science Building. Current equipment includes a fully equipped PET Laboratory, cyclotron, a fully robotic radiochemistry laboratory, research magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy units, event potential laboratories, and digital imaging laboratories. Patient care and resident activities are limited to research protocols.

 

Benefits

Information on resident benefits (insurance, vacation, parking, etc) can be found at:

http://www.uthscsa.edu/gme/benefits.asp

 

 

 

The City

San Antonio is one of America’s unique cities. Having grown from a small Spanish settlement to the nation’s eighth largest metropolis, the Alamo City offers all the cosmopolitan advantages while retaining the grace, charm, and hospitality of a small town. The people are as warm and friendly as the climate.

 

     

 

Cultural, educational, and recreational opportunities are almost limitless. The city’s past is here to see in such sites as the Alamo, the Spanish Governor’s Place, the restored Victorian homes in the King William area, and the Spanish Missions. The Riverwalk treats you to a shady boat ride or leisurely stroll through the heart of downtown, past colorful shops and lively eating places. The river taxi can take you to the landing at Rivercenter, where you’ll find yourself in one of the southwest’s most beautiful urban shopping centers. Two major theme parks, Sea World of Texas and Six Flags Fiesta Texas, are among the city’s attractions.

Museums, galleries, symphony orchestra, and performing arts facilities make cultural offerings available year round. Annual celebrations such as Fiesta, the Texas Folk Life Festival, and San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo are major events for citizens and visitors. Entertainers, lecturers and other personalities are booked for appearances by the ten major colleges and universities in San Antonio.

The Spurs, San Antonio’s professional basketball team, draw large crowds to the SBC Center. Nearby lakes and rivers provide places for fishing, boating, swimming, tubing, and skiing, and the Gulf Coast is only 2 ½ hours away. The temperate climate allows year-round activity on golf courses and tennis courts, and parks are located in all sections of the city, including central Brackenridge Park, home of the outstanding San Antonio Zoo.