Diagnostic Radiology Residency

 

Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital performs an average of 348,000 studies per year and is a Level 1 Trauma Center that provides radiology residents with the majority of their emergency radiology exposure. Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital houses the pediatric radiology department. The Spectrum Health Cancer Center at Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion received the American College of Radiology’s Breast Imaging Center of Excellence Award and is where residents complete rotations in PET.

 

The Spectrum Health Blodgett Hospital Diagnostic Radiology department performs an average of 134,000 diagnostic exams per year, including CT and MRI scanning, nuclear medicine with Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) camera, angiography, and ultrasound. Residents complete the majority of their fluoroscopy experience at Blodgett Hospital, where there is a substantial bariatric surgery population.

 

Mercy Health Saint Mary's board-certified radiologists provide resident training in interventional radiology/angiography, CT and MRI scanning, nuclear medicine, mammography, ultrasound and general radiology. Mercy Health Saint Mary’s is the West Michigan Renal Transplant Center, and provides residents with exposure to a variety of renal failure-related radiological studies. They also opened the region’s first diagnostic Breast Center in 1983, which is the site where residents complete the majority of their mammography rotations. The Lacks Cancer Center at Mercy Health Saint Mary’s is a comprehensive, dedicated cancer hospital.

 

Radiology residents are exposed to state-of-the-art equipment, including:

 

 

Our diagnostic radiology residency program has a long-standing testimony to our commitment to academic excellence and achievement from our current residents and our graduates. We are fully accredited by the ACGME and have received ESIR (Early Specialization in Interventional Radiology) designation. Robust training experience with a case volume being among the top in the state, including cases in rare diseases and post-transplant studies. Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital is a Level 1 Trauma Center and Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children's Hospital is only one of three Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Centers in the state.

 

A dedicated radiology program director with over 25-years of experience helps make this program successful and provides a great learning environment for all residents. Graduates have completed fellowships at some of the best institutions in the country, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Johns Hopkins, Mallinkrodt, Mayo Clinic, and Stanford University.

Conferences are held throughout the academic year. There is an average of nine to ten hours of conferences per week. The core curriculum includes: physics, didactic subspecialty lectures and interactive case conferences. The core curriculum for each section covers all aspects of diagnostic and interventional radiology, repeated twice over the resident’s four years. Daily didactic lectures and/or interactive conferences are provided. Physics lectures are given each Tuesday by department physicists and provide the necessary foundation to understand the underlying imaging science for each diagnostic modality and prepare residents for the physics, regulatory and quality questions they will encounter for their certifying exam and in practice. Our medical physics faculty also teaches a curriculum which incorporates NRC requirements so that all of our residents qualify for authorized user status (please see the American Board of Radiology’s website for details regarding NRC authorized user status).

There are many opportunities to attend lectures and visiting professor series. In addition to clinical radiology and physics lectures, dedicated lectures or course series are provided in: the radiology report, business concepts, quality and patient safety and ethics as they pertain to the practice of radiology. Resident run Brant and Helms Conference is held weekly to provide introduction to the fundamentals of diagnostic radiology to freshman residents. Visiting professors are provided one to two times per month who are nationally and internationally recognized in their area of expertise.

 

Additionally, residents are encouraged to attend and participate in a variety of divisional, departmental and interdepartmental conferences in conjunction with their clinical counterparts, including various specialty tumor boards. Senior residents have the potential to present at these conferences further preparing them for the rigors of fellowship.

 

Meetings and Courses
All diagnostic radiology residents attend the 4-week radiologic pathology course at the American Institute for Radiologic Pathology (AIRP) in Silver Spring, MD, during their PGY-4 year in which registration and lodging are paid for by the program.

 

Additional funds are provided during the resident’s third year to specifically be used for a radiology review course for the ABR Core Exam.

 

Residents present their research at major national meetings including RSNA, ARRS, ASNR, and AUR. Residents are also encouraged to present their work at subspecialty meetings. Our program provides financial support for residents to attend any meeting at which the resident is the primary presenter of an oral presentation or educational exhibit.

 

Research

During radiology residency at Spectrum Health, there are ample research opportunities. Our close affiliation with the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine allows us to take advantages of the many resources. Our high volume lends itself for abundant opportunities for case reports and/or case series studies.  Alternately, those who are more academically orientated may join with one of our faculty, many of which have nationally published articles.  Residents are provided with two weeks elective time per year during their third and fourth years. The scholarly activity support team provides resources to residents and faculty in all areas of research and scholarly activity.

Residents present their research at major national meetings including RSNA, ARRS, ASNR, and AUR. Residents are also encouraged to present their work at subspecialty meetings. Our program provides financial support for residents to attend any meeting at which the resident is the primary presenter of an oral presentation or educational exhibit.

The scholarly activity support team provides support to Spectrum Health residents and faculty in all areas of research and scholarly activity (e.g., quality, educational, surveys).  To access more details, including templates (e.g., study protocol, poster), help request forms and other contact information, visit the Spectrum Health Office of Medical Education Scholarly Activity Support website.

 

Teaching Opportunities
In keeping with the tradition of physician as teacher, residents have many opportunities to teach their colleagues, medical students and patients.  The radiology residents teach medical students the pertinent radiographic and CT findings (normal and abnormal) anatomy during their first year.  The residents also teach each other through weekly conferences such as Brant and Helms Rounds. In addition, the residents participate in a resident-run interdisciplinary conference in which they teach the clinical residents their patient’s pathological imaging findings. 

Our program accepts applications through the Electronic Residency Application Service. This service is provided to medical students during their senior year by their medical school. We begin accepting applications on September 15 each year and our deadline for completed applications is December 1. See our eligibility requirements.

 

Application Requirements:

Our program received four year accreditation on February 20, 2015 from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Our first self-study date is scheduled for November 2021. For more information on our program, contact the program coordinator. 

All visiting medical student applications must be submitted through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities program (formerly known as VSAS). The Spectrum Health course catalog for rotation opportunities starting in July for the next academic year will be posted in March. Applications will be accepted starting April 1.

Spectrum Health provides a comprehensive and very competitive benefits package for our residents, staff and their families. In addition, our program provides educational monies to support your ongoing education. Download our salary and benefits document to learn more.