Program Overview

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Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program

The Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). There are 10 resident positions per year for the four-year training program. Intern year training must be completed prior to the start of the Diagnostic Radiology Residency.

Program Overview

Four-year Diagnostic Radiology residents are encouraged to participate in Specialty Tracks in research, quality, education, or informatics. There is also a dedicated 5-year Clinician-Scientist track within the Diagnostic Radiology Residency that includes 1 year of research prior to the first year of radiology residency.

Our Mission

The mission of the Diagnostic Radiology Residency program is to provide outstanding educational opportunities to residents through innovative teaching, clinical training, and exposure to research, quality, and leadership initiatives for the purpose of enabling our trainees to become outstanding providers of clinical radiology in independent practices and academic medicine.

Program Aims

• Develop foundational skills for excellence in clinical practice through a comprehensive curriculum led by world-class faculty in all sub-specialties of Radiology.
• Provide clinical training experiences in diverse healthcare settings, including general community medicine, underserved and high-complexity tertiary care populations in nationally recognized institutions.
• Educate providers of outstanding care who will enter diverse clinical practice settings, such as academic medicine and private practice.
• Build communication skills for the 21st century, enabling graduates to deliver complex medical information to patients and providers with clarity, accuracy, timeliness, and compassion.
• Mentor the next generation of leaders in research, quality, education, and informatics through faculty-led specialty tracks.
• Foster the development of leadership practice skills through progressive autonomy.
• Instill core values of intellectual vibrancy, inspiration, innovation, iteration, integrity, and impact which are the foundational principles of the Radiology department.

Program Highlights

• The clinical teaching program is based at Parkland Hospital, where residents receive approximately two-thirds of their training. Residents also rotate at William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital and Children's Health Children's Medical Center.
• Extensive interaction between staff and residents (more than 150 clinical faculty members, 26 Ph.D. research faculty, and 11 medical physicists are dedicated to the education of future radiologists)
• Participation in daily faculty-led conferences, as well as experience in hands-on learning at PACS workstations and direct patient interactions
• Participation in multidisciplinary conferences with faculty and other clinical services
• Exposure to and participation in an array of Radiology research initiatives, including presentations of individual projects during Research Day

Training

A comprehensive learning experience:

• Rotation schedules are structured on a four-week block basis, providing 13 rotations per year and a significant exposure to the core radiological subspecialties. The Residency rotation curriculum is structured to provide each resident a solid foundation in all of the subspecialties American Board of Radiology Core Exam at the end of the third year.
• The section-based curriculum includes an education in radiologic physics.
• The first clinical year is devoted primarily to rotating through the basic services of thoracic, musculoskeletal, body imaging, neuroimaging, and emergency radiology.
• Subsequent second and third years include further training in these and other fields, along with a structured rotation schedule. Services include nuclear medicine, PET and PET-CT, magnetic resonance imaging, breast imaging, interventional radiology, and pediatric radiology.
• The fourth year allows residents to choose a variety of subspecialty electives including mini fellowship blocks in order to enhance their preparation for a future career.

Facilities and Equipment

Facilities consist of:

• Five whole-body MRI units at UTSW
  • One 7T
  • Four 3T
• Six whole-body MRI units at Children's Health
  • Two 3T
  • Four 1.5T
• Positron Emission Tomography Mammography
• 16.5 MeV Cyclotron
• High Intensity Focused Ultrasound
• Spectral CT
• Small animal MR, SPECT, PET, and CT

Conferences

Radiology teaching conferences are held daily throughout the year and include both didactic lectures and case-based presentations in a predominately section-based format. First year Radiology residents also benefit from a dedicated introductory course provided by fourth-year residents and longitudinal faculty-led conference series dedicated to teaching the core principles of radiology.

Research Opportunities

Intellectual vibrancy and technological innovation are core values of the Department, which are developed through research and collaborative efforts of the clinical and research faculty. Residents are required to engage in scholarly activity as part of their training in an ACGME-accredited program. Results must be published or presented at institutional, local, regional, or national meetings. Projects may include:

• Laboratory research
• Clinical research
• Analysis of disease processes, imaging techniques, or practice management issue

Fellowship Placement

Nearly every resident pursues advanced training through prestigious fellowship programs following graduation, matching into their top training choices across the nation.

Salaries and Benefits

Hospital stipends are set annually and are competitive nationally with those of other teaching programs. The amount depends on the year of residency training. Low-cost hospitalization and dental insurance is available to contracted house staff, as well as a group life insurance plan. Medical malpractice insurance is provided for Radiology house staff by the Department through the University of Texas System group plan. Each resident receives 25 days of PTO annually, which can be rolled over from year to year. Six weeks of paid medical and parental leave are provided. Free parking is available at all sites.

Salary

• PGY 1: $70,101.00
• PGY 2: $72,672.00
• PGY 3: $76,167.00
• PGY 4: $80,299.00
• PGY 5: $84,095.00
• PGY 6: $86,503.00
• PGY 7: $91,451.00
• PGY 8: $95,787.00

Application Process

This year, we will be providing ten Diagnostic Radiology positions, and three Clinician-Scientist Track positions. Radiology residency applications should be submitted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). It is strongly recommended that you complete your application by October 15. In addition to the ERAS application, applications must include:

• Brief personal statement
• Curriculum vitae
• Medical school transcript
• USMLE Step 1 and USMLE Step 2 reports
• Dean's letter
• Three letters of recommendation from physicians who have knowledge of your clinical experience

Leadership

• Karuna Raj, M.D., Program Director
• Trenton Bawcum, M.D., Associate Program Director
• Kirang Patel, M.D., Associate Program Director
• Jennifer Schopp, M.D., Associate Program Director
• Darren Imphean, M.D., Chief Resident
• Havisha Munjal, M.D., Chief Resident
• Ava Mirtsching, M.D., Jr. Chief Resident
• Aarushi Aggarwal, M.D., Jr. Chief Resident