Introduction to the Radiology Residency Program
at the Medical College of Georgia

The Medical College of Georgia is the health sciences university of the University System of Georgia. MCG is made up of five schools, medicine, nursing, dentistry, allied health, and graduate studies. The Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics and the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center were established by the State of Georgia to serve as support institutions for the teaching functions of the Medical College of Georgia. Under direction of the Board of Regents, these institutions work together to provide instruction, research, and patient care.

The Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics (MCG), including the Children’s Medical Center (CMC), is a 570 bed unit providing both primary and specialty care. The hospital also serves as the designated Shock-Trauma center for the East Central Georgia Health District. The types and complexities of the services provided by the Department of Radiology are designed to meet the needs of the patients, students, and housestaff of the Department in its primary role of providing excellent training for residents and students. In this role, the Department delivers quality patient care, functions as a problem solving resource for Georgia physicians, and provides opportunities for faculty development through research and other scholarly activities.

It is the responsibility of the faculty and staff of the Department of Radiology to provide high quality patient care and to demonstrate professionalism in their daily activities. The same attributes are expected of the residents.

MISSION AND OBJECTIVES

The Mission of the program in Diagnostic Radiology at the Medical College of Georgia is the education of radiology residents, by offering a quality education experience of adequate scope and depth in all associated modalities. (The Mission is stated in the Diagnostic Radiology Residency bulletin.)

The principal objectives of the radiology residency program are:

1.To provide didactic experiences that will enable the resident to become proficient in the knowledge of physical, technical, and biomedical principles of the application of diagnostic procedures.
2.To provide clinical experiences that will enable the resident to develop competence and confidence in film interpretation.
3.To provide clinical experiences that will enable the resident to correlate information obtained through the application of various diagnostic modalities with appropriate pathologic differentials, leading to accurate diagnosis of the patient condition.
4. To equip the resident with knowledge and skills that will facilitate future inquiry in the field of diagnostic imaging.

CLINICAL ROTATIONS

Residents and faculty share the responsibility for patient care in radiology. During each clinical rotation, the faculty assigns tasks to the resident according to the resident’s level of competence and experience. The resident completes assigned tasks under supervision of the faculty. The faculty assumes final responsibility for the quality of the resident’s work. The scope of activities and levels of supervision vary according to the types of activities done in each section of the department.

Residents will rotate through the following areas:

General Diagnosis, Body Imaging, Musculoskeletal Radiology, Nuclear Radiology, Pediatrics, Neuroradiology, Interventional, Cardiac, Ultrasound (including OB-Ultrasound), Mammography, and the Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Residents on General Diagnosis at MCG primarily interpret plain radiographs of outpatients, inpatients, and emergency Room patients. During the General Diagnosis rotations at the Augusta Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC), residents participate in all fluoroscopic procedures in addition to the plain films, emulating the functions of a general hospital radiology department. Members of the General Diagnostic faculty provide supervision and teaching on a rotating basis in both areas.

Residents assigned to MCG Body Imaging will learn the procedures and interpretation of GI fluoroscopy, GU examinations, Ultrasound studies, Body CT and Body MRI. Residents in the VA Body Imaging rotation will emphasize Body and Musculoskeletal CT, MRI, and U/S.

Pediatric Radiology rotations include film interpretation in the radiology suite of the CMC, the Pediatric Intensive Care unit, and the Neonatal Intensive Care unit. Residents also learn to perform the procedures of the sub-specialty.

Neuroradiology rotations include film interpretations of the head, neck and spine in plain films, CT and MRI modalities. In addition the resident will learn CT and MRI protocols. As the resident progresses through higher level rotations, performance and interpretation of myelography and angiography procedures will be emphasized. Exposure to interventional neuroradiology is also provided.

Nuclear Medicine rotations include establishment of basic knowledge of radiopharmacy, nuclear physics, radiation safety, quality control, and regulatory agencies as well as routine protocols and interpretation of images. Cardiology is a special rotation in which the resident splits the rotation between nuclear cardiology and cardiology.

Vascular/Interventional Radiology rotations are done at MCG, VAMC and University Hospital where the resident assists in performing and interpreting procedures, using the MCG Angiography Suite as the main base.

Mammography rotations include interpretation of mammograms and performance of biopsy procedures.

Musculoskeletal radiology is performed in the orthopedic clinic. The resident participates in the interpretation of plain films, CT and MRI as well as orthopedic radiological procedures. Further exposure to musculoskeletal radiology is provided during the body imaging rotation at the Veterans Administration Hospital.

Additional rotations include an elective six-week course at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, one Research rotation (2nd year), and an OB Ultrasound rotation in the sonography suite of the OB-GYN clinic.

Resident rotations are 4 weeks in length. Schedules are planned so that each resident will experience a pre-determined number of rotations on each service.

CONFERENCES

All residents attend the daily noon conferences and categorical courses, as well as those occasional activities scheduled for early morning or late evening. It is also expected that all residents will take categorical course exams when scheduled. The Radiology Department participates in many interdisciplinary conferences and residents may be involved in preparation and presentation of these conferences during specialty rotations. Attendance is strongly encouraged even when the resident is not a participant. Presentations and conferences given by visiting lecturers are usually scheduled during the existing conference times. Post call residents who are allowed to leave after the morning review of cases are not expected to return for class or conference.

Categorical Courses

Categorical courses are ongoing throughout the year and presented by the individual section faculty. The following didactic lectures play an unique and integral part of resident training.

Physics Ongoing weekly
Body Imaging
Chest Radiology
Pediatric Radiology
Radiation Biology
Musculoskeletal
Neuroradiology
Vascular/Interventional
Nuclear Radiology
Radiation Oncology
Mammography

Journal Club

The residents’ Journal Club will be held every 1st Friday of the month. The Chief Resident will select articles and residents who will present the cases.

Visiting Professor Lecture Series

Renowned visiting professors are invited to speak throughout the year.  Resident participation and board review are integral to this lecture series.

Resident Research Projects

Residents will have a 4-week research rotation during their second year of training. A research project and plan will be worked out with a chosen mentor. Residents are encouraged to identify a project or case study that will lead to an exhibit, a presentation at a Regional or National meeting and publication of an article. Resident research projects may also be presented at the department’s Research and Education conferences.

EDUCATION FUNDS

An education budget is established for each resident, to be used for the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology course. Tuition for the course is paid for by this fund as well as provision of a generous stipend for living expenses. The AFIP course is generally scheduled during the second or third year of residency. Funding for national meetings or special seminars may be provided upon approval by the Program Director and Business Manager. The Department of Radiology strongly encourages residents to participate in research and provides funding for presentation at national meetings.

RADIOLOGY RESIDENT LIBRARY

In addition to the department library, a well-balanced and current resident library is maintained by the Department of Radiology for use by radiology residents. The resident library houses texts, ACR syllabi, and ACR teaching files (CD-ROM). Residents may sign out texts for use during their radiology rotations.

CALL RESPONSIBILITIES

Resident call is in-house and begins late in the first year as short call and daytime weekend call with overnight call beginning in the last month of the first year. Short call is from 5  p.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays. Night float begins at 8 p.m. and lasts until 8 a.m. Call on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays are from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. Night float is 2 weeks in duration with the intervening Saturday night off.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

The Diagnostic Radiology Faculty, constituting the Resident Evaluation Committee, meets semi-annually to review resident performance. Additionally, residents are evaluated at the end of each rotation by the faculty in charge of their training. The faculty evaluator will review the evaluation form with the resident and both evaluator and resident will sign the form. Residents also evaluate faculty at the completion of each specialty rotation. Each resident’s progress is reviewed at periodic meetings with the Program Director. Access to written evaluations is through the Resident Coordinator. First, second, and third-year residents participate in the annual In-Training Examination administered by the American College of Radiology. This examination is given during the month of February. Results generally are available in mid-April and the official annual evaluation takes place after that time. Residents also participate in the annual RAPHEX physics examination usually given in late June/early July. Mock oral boards are given to 2nd through 4th year residents to simulate the ABR oral certifying examination. The cases and results are discussed with each resident for educational purposes.