Diagnostic Radiology Resident Recruitment Part II

Applicants to diagnostic radiology residencies often obtain advice regarding the process, typically from local individuals. Materials available on the Internet contribute to this process as well. We are a group of current and former Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program Directors and current Vice Chairs for Education who commonly advise medical students, including regarding radiology as a career. This work is meant to provide a “plain talk” resource for those considering a career in radiology via a radiology residency, written from the point of view of an advisor with lots of experience.

We are a group of Vice Chairs for Education who belong to a group called ADVICER and are interested in sharing some advice to diagnostic radiology (DR) residency applicants based on our many years of experience. We are all either current or previous program directors (PDs), have reviewed many thousands of applications, and have interviewed thousands of candidates. Although we have chosen to focus on DR, it is our sincere hope and expectation that it will be useful for interventional radiology (IR) as well. It is also our hope that others in Graduate Medical Education (GME) may find this work useful. Please note that our opinions may not necessarily be those of ADVICER.

An online document from several authors connected to AMSER (The Association of Medical Student Educators in Radiology) entitled “AMSER Guide to Applying for Radiology Residency” provides extensive information and advice. Our work here is meant to complement this and other resources already available online or in the literature including but not limited to Apps of Steel by Donna Magid and the AAMC (American Association of Medical Colleges) Careers in Medicine website . We have chosen to organize this work on the yearly application cycle. The following is not meant to be all-inclusive and is Part II of a two-part series (the other is focused on advice to DR Residency PDs and Programs).

Before the Interview Season Starts

Experiences

There is significant variation among applicants regarding when they confirm their interest to apply to their specialty of choice. Some may have prior experience and interest from interactions with family members as a child, personal experience as a patient, or research in college or during medical school. Radiology tends to attract medical students later in their medical school careers, possibly at the end of MS3 or even early MS4.

If a student has any interest in applying for radiology residency, it is prudent for them to reach out to the institution’s radiology PD to seek advice. This meeting should be used for fact checking and self-assessment. Students should be open to providing information relevant to their potential application. It is better to know if one is not going to be a competitive applicant for a certain program sooner rather than later (eg, after the Match). This meeting is not necessary, but is advisable. In fact, in some schools, the Dean’s office recommends a specialty advisor to help guide all MS3 with planning their fourth year schedules and electives. When meeting with the specialty advisor, students should be concise and take notes on all the information so that they can make an informed decision during the application season. If students are doing an elective in another institution, it is recommended that they meet with the PD there briefly to improve the chances that their application will be reviewed by that program.

Research during medical school may be desired or required and may augment an application in radiology. Research and publications in other fields may still be quite useful if the student did not originally have the intention of applying for radiology residency or there is a demonstration of excellence with this work. However, if one is applying for radiology residency, at least one radiology research project is advisable with potential publication in radiology journals or presentation at relevant national or international meetings. The project can be relatively small (eg, case report or educational exhibit) and the candidate may be able to secure a recommendation letter from the Radiology faculty member, which may enhance the application. Obtaining funding and working on larger projects, while more desirable, may not be feasible. Research may be less of a priority for applicants to community-based residency programs. However, scholarly activity during radiology residency is an ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) requirement for all Diagnostic Radiology Residency Programs . The Association of University Radiologists has many resources for the students to get involved in research and to apply for grants .

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The Application

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Special Interests

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Interview

Before the Interview

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After the Interview

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The Actual Interview

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Big Picture and Details

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Conclusions

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References

1. Lewis P.J., Probyn L., McGuinness G., et. al.: Developing a job description for a vice chair of education in radiology: The ADVICER template. Acad Radiol 2015; 22: pp. 933-938.
2. Alliance of Directors and Vice Chairs of Education in Radiology : Available at https://www.aur.org/ADVICER/ Accessed September 1, 2017
3. Alliance of Medical Student Educators in Radiology : Available at https://www.aur.org/AMSER/ Accessed September 1, 2017
4. Chen J., Reddy S., Neutze J., et. al.: Available at http://www.aur.org/uploadedfiles/alliances/amser/educator_resources/amser_guide_to_applying_for_radiology_residency.pdf Accessed September 1, 2017
5. Magid D.: Apps of Steel—Match Me Yes You Can. Available at http://teamrads.com/index.php/resources/apps-of-steel
6. Association of American Medical Colleges : Available at https://www.aamc.org/cim/ Accessed October 20, 2017
7. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education : Available at https://www.acgme.org/Portals/0/PFAssets/ProgramRequirements/420_diagnostic_radiology_2017-07-01.pdf Accessed September 1, 2017
8. Association of University Radiologists : Available at https://www.aur.org/ Accessed September 1, 2017
9. Fricke B.B., Gunderman R.B.: Creating and enhancing radiology student interest groups. Acad Radiol 2010; 17: pp. 1567-1569.
10. Association of American Medical Colleges : Available at https://www.aamc.org/services/eras/ Accessed September 1, 2017
11. United States Medical Licensing Examination : Available at http://www.usmle.org/pdfs/transcripts/USMLE_Step_Examination_Score_Interpretation_Guidelines.pdf Accessed September 1, 2017
12. Alpha Omega Alpha : Available at http://alphaomegaalpha.org/how.html Accessed September 1, 2017
13. Arnold P. Gold Foundation : Available at http://www.gold-foundation.org/programs/ghhs/ Accessed September 1, 2017
14. National Residency Matching Program : Available at http://www.nrmp.org/match-participation-agreements/ Accessed September 1, 2017
15. Berlin J.W., Lexa F.J.: Strategic planning for neuroradiologists. Neuroimaging Clin N Am 2012; 22: pp. 403-409.
16. Sharpe R.E., Mehta T.S., Eisenberg R.L., et. al.: Strategic planning and radiology practice management in the new health care environment. Radiographics 2015; 35: pp. 239-253.

Diagnostic Radiology Resident Recruitment Part II

Before the Interview Season Starts

Experiences

The Application

Special Interests

Interview

Before the Interview

After the Interview

The Actual Interview

Big Picture and Details

Conclusions

References

Further Reading

(Lack of) Measurable Clinical or Knowledge Gains From Resident Participation in Noon Conference

Attitudes of Radiology Program Directors Toward MD-PhD Trainees, Resident Research Productivity, and Dedicated Research Time

Best Practices From the APDR