Radiology & Diagnostic Imaging in the University of Alberta is based at the University of Alberta Hospital and the Stollery Children's Hospital. All major hospitals in the region are involved: the Royal Alexandra Hospital, Grey Nuns Hospital, Sturgeon General Hospital, Misericordia Hospital and the Cross Cancer Institute.

Edmonton is home to active clinical programs in all fields of medicine including quaternary care facilities offering organ transplantation and complex neonatal heart surgery. The Capital Health region is in the process of introducing a fully integrated PACS-RIS digital imaging environment and modalities including 64- slice CT scanners, PET-CT, functional MRI and facilities for advanced radiological interventional procedures. The large catchment area results in a broad range of clinical experience for Staff and Residents.

The department offers world-class residency training programs in Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. Residents join a program that is well established, highly successful and which offers a highly stimulating but welcoming environment. Fellowship programs are offered in some specialties in Diagnostic Radiology.

Nuclear Medicine Residency Program

Curriculum:
The goal of the Nuclear Medicine training program is to produce Nuclear Medicine physicians who are well trained in all aspects of Nuclear Medicine, satisfy current standards of good clinical practice, and meet the requirements of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Our residents get a well-rounded training which includes all facets of current nuclear medicine practice. The experience extends from basic science to highly specialized clinical imaging procedures. The resident is exposed to a full spectrum of practice from community-based “bread and butter” outpatient studies to esoteric, rarely performed studies which can only be performed in a tertiary care institution. The Edmonton Radiopharmaceutical Center provides solid training in tracer preparation and QC. The University of Alberta Hospital provides a large breadth of exposure to tertiary care studies, which includes cardiac and transplant studies. The Stollery Children’s Hospital provides a wide exposure to pediatric nuclear medicine studies, including diagnostic and therapeutic studies related to pediatric oncology. Residents have direct access to case material from Medical Imaging Consultants, which has one of the largest outpatient nuclear medicine practices in North America . The Cross Cancer Institute provides a solid experience in all aspects of oncologic nuclear medicine, with very strong training in therapy for malignant disease. PET training is an integral part of our program, currently obtained at the Cross Cancer Institute. Soon, PET/PET-CT training will also be available at the University of Alberta Hospital. SPECT/CT experience will also be available soon at the Royal Alexandra Hospital . The wide range of equipment available to our program is typically state of the art.

The structure of the program reflects our philosophy that nuclear medicine is fundamentally an imaging specialty. Underlying a solid training in all aspects of dedicated nuclear medicine, we provide a strong foundation in anatomic imaging, with an emphasis on a multi-modality cross-correlation approach. A candidate can choose to pursue either “straight” nuclear medicine training, or “combined” training. Straight training leads to Royal College certification in Nuclear Medicine; combined training leads to Royal College certification in both Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. Even candidates who pursue straight nuclear medicine training will receive some radiology training immediately preceding nuclear medicine.

All candidates will undergo an “internship” PGY-1 year, followed by one complete year of training in general radiology. Subsequently, candidates who choose combined training will undergo another three years of training in general radiology for four total years of radiology, to satisfy Royal College requirements for general radiology. Afterwards, two years of core nuclear medicine training satisfy Royal College requirements for nuclear medicine. This completes the program. Recently, we have tweaked this program, by interspersing six core months of nuclear medicine in the three latter years of radiology training. This effectively expands core nuclear medicine training to 2.5 years, without prolonging the six total years of post-internship training.

Candidates who opt for “straight” nuclear medicine training undergo three core years of nuclear medicine training after the preliminary internship and general radiology year that are common to all candidates. This combination satisfies Royal College requirements for nuclear medicine.

In summary, nuclear medicine can be pursed in two ways:
Straight:

* PGY1: Internship year
* PGY2: General Radiology training (1 year)
* PGY3-PGY5: Core Nuclear Medicine training (3 years)
* Total: 4 years post internship

Combined:

* PGY1: Internship year
* PGY2-PGY5: General Radiology Training (4 Years)
* PGY6-PGY7: Core Nuclear Medicine Training (2.5 Years)*
* Total: 6 years post internship

*see above explanation

Seminars:

* Weekly didactic seminars in Physics/Basic Science and Clinical Nuclear Medicine (currently two academic half days per week)
* Residents attend a graduate level University course in radiopharmacy
* Selective attendance in radiobiology and radiation safety courses
* Nuclear Medicine interesting case rounds
* Nuclear Medicine and Radiology grand rounds
* Journal Club

Research:

Residents are encouraged to participate in a research project during their training with a view to publication or presentation at a major nuclear medicine meeting. Ample opportunities for such are provided during the PGY2-PGY5 years for combined candidates, or during the PGY 3-PGY5 years for straight candidates.
Selection Criteria:

Applications must come through the Canadian Residents Matching Service (CaRMS). Candidates will be selected on the basis of individual merit.

Interviews:

Personal interviews are required and are program initiated. All candidates are interviewed by a common team which selects both radiology and nuclear medicine candidates. This approach ensures that all final ranked nuclear medicine candidates have been prescreened by and are acceptable to the radiology program.

Personal Letter:

A personal letter is required.

Additional Information:

Elective training in other centres may be allowed (Canada, USA, Europe).

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This information is reposted with thanks to University of Alberta Hospital.