Program Overview

Introduction to the Diagnostic Imaging Residency Program

The Diagnostic Imaging Residency Program at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University is designed to provide broad training in routine and special procedures in small and large animal diagnostic radiology, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, CT, and MRI. The program offers non-degree postgraduate clinical training in the diagnostic imaging field for thirty-eight months, which also includes diagnostic imaging physics and radiation biology.

Program Structure and Requirements

• The bulk of the training comes through hands-on performance and daily interaction with radiology faculty, and to a lesser degree, through seminars and formal courses.
• The resident participates in classroom and laboratory instruction to a limited extent.
• The residency program allows the resident to progress until they are able, with minimal supervision, to take charge of a busy clinical imaging service on a day-to-day basis and to assist in the instruction of veterinary students.
• The individual is required to complete and publish a clinical research project in a peer-reviewed scientific journal; the project is developed under the supervision of the diagnostic imaging faculty.
• The individual will be eligible to apply for the qualifying examination of the American College of Veterinary Radiology (ACVR) upon satisfactory completion of this program.

Program Details and Facilities

• The program has the specific purpose of training residents to become future clinicians, teachers, and investigators in the diagnostic imaging field.
• Graduates should be equipped to function either in an academic environment or in a private specialty practice.
• The residency begins in the month of July; there are currently 7 residents enrolled in the program.
• Appointments are made for 12 months and are annually renewed based on satisfactory performance during the previous year.
• A certificate of residency is awarded to the candidate upon successful completion of the training program.
• On-campus facilities and equipment available to Cummings School radiology residents include:
  • Three digital radiographic suites, one of which has a digital fluoroscopy system.
  • Two Philips Epiq Elite and one Toshiba Aplio ultrasound machines with color, duplex, and Power Doppler modes.
  • A 16 slice Toshiba Aquilion CT, (a 160 slice Toshiba Exceed LB with Qalibra sliding gantry platform to allow standing equine CT will be installed in early 2024).
  • A 3Tesla Philips Ingenia MRI with a large animal table.
  • A 57PMT IS2 digital rectangular nuclear medicine camera coupled with a Mirage acquisition/processing station.
  • All imaging modalities are linked to a Carestream PACS server for image archival.
  • The diagnostic imaging section is a filmless DICOM operation.

ACVR Requirements

• Total: 36 months (Tufts residency is 38 months).
• Minimum time on-clinics: 30 months.
• SA radiography: 12 months.
• LA radiography: 6 months.
• US: 6 months.
• Alternative Imaging: 3 months.

General Description of the Program

• The first two months of the first year are spent learning the technical aspects of all different imaging modalities in both large and small animals.
• Thereafter, a resident will alternate between radiography
  uclear medicine (2-3 weeks), ultrasound (2 weeks), and CT/MRI (1 week each) for the duration of the residency.

Time Allocation and Research

• Vacation time: Two weeks each in years 1-3.
• Off-clinic time over the course of the residency for research, study, and externships:
  • Year 1: No off-clinic time is usually taken.
  • Year 2: 1 week per month starting in October and 3-4 weeks prior to the preliminary board examination. Unused time can be rolled over into year 3.
  • Year 3: Two weeks of off-clinic time for job interviews, research, and externships.
• Total: Of the 38 months of training, approximately 40% of the residency is spent on the radiology floor (small and large animals) which includes special procedures and nuclear medicine, 30% is spent in ultrasound, and the remaining 30% in CT and MRI.

On-Call Duties

• On-call duties are shared by the residents.
• The number of weeks per resident per year depends on the number of total residents enrolled in the program.
• Residents are on emergency on-call duty approximately one week every 6 weeks.
• Weekday on-call duty starts at 6 pm and ends at 8 am the next day. Weekend on-call starts at 6 pm Friday and ends at 8 am Monday. If Monday is a holiday, weekend on-call ends Tuesday at 8 am.
• Residents are expected to be available by phone and to respond to our clinicians within 5 minutes of getting a call.
• Compensation (in addition to base salary) is provided on a per case basis for on-call duty services.
• All residents on-call have a faculty back-up available by phone.