PROGRAM

The residency program encompasses five centers of clinical excellence:

1.      The University of Washington Medical Center, which specializes in tertiary care, including organ transplantation, oncology, and cardiac disease, is ranked 11th nationally by the US News and World Report. Residents spend approximately 35% of their time at this site.

2.      Harborview Medical Center (30% of residents’ time) is a public hospital for King County and serves as the only level 1 trauma center for five states (Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming) accounting for 25% of the U.S. land mass.

3.      Seattle Children’s Hospital (15% of the residents’ time) is ranked among the top 10 pediatric hospitals by the US News and World Report and is the only pediatric specialty hospital for our five-state region.

4.      Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (10% of residents’ time), a cooperative venture of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the University of Washington, and Children’s Hospital, pioneered the development of bone marrow transplantation in the United States. Fred Hutchinson receives more federal research funding than any other cancer center in the country. All breast imaging and most outpatient cancer imaging in our department is performed here.

5.      Seattle Veterans Affairs Medical Center (10% of residents’ time) has the second largest funded research program in the VA Health System and cares for veterans from throughout the Northwest.

The new format and timeline of the American Board of Radiology examinations have allowed our program to think creatively about training radiologists for the 21st century. After considerable effort, we have taken the opportunity to revamp and revitalize our curriculum for residents who will be entering the program in 2010 and beyond. This restructuring will allow us to keep the best of the current program while affording residents the flexibility they need in their training. Residents will rotate through all subspecialties of radiology and complete their core requirements in the first three years of radiology training. The final year can be devoted to research, teaching, early sub-specialization in an area of focus, or in-depth education in more than one field.

Research is an important part of our program’s educational mission and is now an integral component of our program. All residents undertake a mentored research project during their two-month “Competencies” rotation. Residents may also schedule up to six months of elective time for research during their residency. Residents have the option of choosing the Research Track, which affords residents a year of dedicated research training and experience during PGY-5, and extends into the fellowship year. The Research Track requires a separate match through the NRMP, and up to two residents will be in this program each year.

Teaching experience will be integrated into the program for all residents. Residents who are preparing for a career as a clinician-educator may choose the Education Pathway, which will allow additional time in the PGY-5 year to learn how to teach more effectively, to obtain hands-on experience teaching medical students, to create and publish enduring teaching materials, and to conduct research in education. This pathway does not require a separate match, and up to two residents will enter this track at the end of the PGY-4 year.

We have created an exciting new month-long Global Health rotation, in which two residents per year are funded to work in a developing country. This past year our residents participated in a rotation in Tanzania; they found it to be a terrific learning opportunity, and when they returned to Seattle they shared their experiences with the entire department.

Our new mentorship program provides a resident mentor and a faculty mentor to every incoming resident. The mentors guide the residents during the course of their career at UW, providing advice on topics as varied as finding the best books to read, excelling during residency, identifying a field of research, and choosing a fellowship and a career path. Residents will also choose a research mentor once they identify an area of interest.