The Radiology Residency Program at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital offers residents a broad educational experience in a tertiary medical center known for both medical expertise and high quality, personalized patient care.

The Department of Radiology at West Penn Hospital performs more than 150,000 studies and procedures per year, including more than 2,500 nuclear cardiology scans, 1,300 obstetric ultrasounds, and 4,500 vascular ultrasounds. The hospital was one of the first of its size in the country to do away with films and has been fully integrated with digital PACS imaging since 1997. The Hospital also has invested in advanced MR, PET and CT scanning technology.

Three new candidates are selected each year to participate in the program. A one-to-one faculty to resident ratio allows for individual teaching and personal interactions between fellowship trained faculty and residents. Residents graduate with a comprehensive understanding of diagnostic radiology.


Curriculum
The first year is strongly grounded in the basics of radiology. In the second through fourth years, residents build on their subspecialty experiences.

First Year:
* Body CT- 8 weeks
* General- 12 weeks
* GI/GU Fluoroscopy- 8 weeks
* Mammography- 4 weeks
* Neuroradiology- 4 weeks
* Nuclear Medicine- 8 weeks
* Ultrasound- 8 weeks

Second Year:
* Body CT- 4 weeks
* Body/Muskuloskeletal MRI- 4 weeks
* General- 4 weeks
* GI/GU Fluoroscopy- 4 weeks
* Mammography- 4 weeks
* Muskuloskeletal/Trauma- 4 weeks
* Neuroradiology- 8 weeks
* Nuclear Medicine- 4 weeks
* Pediatrics- 4 weeks
* Post Call Float- 4 weeks
* Ultrasound- 4 weeks
* Vascular/Interventional- 4 weeks

Third Year:
* Armed Forces Institute of Pathology - 6 weeks
* Body/Muskuloskeletal MRI- 4 weeks
* Cardiac & 3D- 2 weeks
* General- 4 weeks
* Mammography- 4 weeks
* Muskuloskeletal/Trauma- 4 weeks
* Neuroradiology- 4 weeks
* Nuclear Medicine- 4 weeks
* Pediatrics- 4 weeks
* Post Call Float- 4 weeks
* Ultrasound- 4 weeks
* Vascular/Interventional- 8 weeks

Fourth Year:
* Body CT- 4 weeks
* Body/Muskuloskeletal MRI- 4 weeks
* Elective- 12 weeks
* General- 4 weeks
* GI/GU Fluoroscopy- 4 weeks
* Mammography- 4 weeks
* Neuroradiology- 4 weeks
* Nuclear Medicine- 4 weeks
* Pediatrics- 4 weeks
* Post Call Float- 4 weeks
* Ultrasound- 4 weeks

To see more details: Curriculum

Conferences
Two conferences are held each day; the first from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., the second from Noon to 1:00 pm. Greater than 90 percent of conferences are given by radiology faculty. Each faculty member gives a mixture of didactic lectures and unknown case presentations in their specialty field. More than 75 hours of radiology physics lectures are given each year to prepare the residents for the physics board exam. In addition, residents and faculty attend weekly multidisciplinary conferences, such as tumor board and thoracic conference. Residents take turns presenting personal topics of interest each month at the departmental grand rounds. Residents also present interesting MRI, CT, and ultrasound cases at a monthly body conference.

Each month, a nationally renowned radiologist is invited as a visiting professor. Over a two-day period, the visiting professor typically gives two lectures in their specialty field and several hours of unknown case conferences to the residents. The majority of visiting professors are board examiners. Their lectures and conferences better prepare the residents for oral board exams.

To see more details: Conferences

Visit their web-site: The Western Pennsylvania Hospital

This article is taken with thanks to The Western Pennsylvania Hospital.