Radiology-Diagnostic Curriculum and Affiliations
Our program is a collaborative effort between Valleywise Health and Dignity Health St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. We are a fast-paced Level I trauma centers in central Phoenix with a high-volume emergency department treating more than 80,000 patients yearly.
Curriculum
In the PGY-2 year, residents begin their radiology training on day one by dictating studies immediately. Residents rotate through all of the core building blocks prior to starting call, with an upper level rotating with them on abdomen, chest, and MSK. First year radiology residents (PGY 2) are never unsupervised and begin taking weekend day call half way through the year side-by-side with an attending and an upper level resident. Residents will have rotations at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center (SJHMC) and Valleywise Health. The typical PGY-2 schedule is as follows:
Year 1
- 8 weeks – Abdomen X-ray/CT
- 8 weeks – Musculoskeletal X-ray/CT
- 8 weeks – Chest/Cardiac CT
- 4 weeks – Ultrasound
- 4 weeks – Pediatrics
- 4 weeks – Neuroradiology CT
- 4 weeks – Neuroradiology MRI
- 4 weeks – Nuclear Medicine
- 4 weeks – Emergency Radiology
- 4 weeks – Interventional Radiology
Second year radiology residents (PGY 3) begin to take evening call with in-house faculty supervision and overnight call with attending radiologists a phone call away. PGY-3’s are able to begin developing their leadership skills by providing guidance and mentorship to first year radiology residents and medical students. The typical PGY-3 schedule includes the following rotations:
Years 2 – 3
Includes core rotations as well as rotations in the following areas:
- Body MRI
- Cardiac and Chest MRI
- Musculoskeletal MRI
- Night Float
- Spine Intervention
- Women’s Imaging
Third year radiology residents (PGY IV) are able to further explore subspecialties within radiology throughout the year. Third year residents act as mentors to the first and second year residents and are able to explore leadership roles. The third year call schedule is much less intense than the second year call schedule and is front-loaded to allow residents ample time to study for the CORE exam at the end of the year.
Fourth year radiology residents (PGY V) act as leaders and mentors throughout the year. They are able to customize their fourth year to their subspecialty of choice and have a high degree of freedom when choosing rotation schedules.
Dignity Health: St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center
St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center is part of Dignity Health, the largest Catholic health care system in the country. St. Joseph’s is a nationally recognized center for quality tertiary care, medical education and research. It includes the internationally renowned Barrow Neurological Institute®, the Norton Thoracic Institute, Center for Women's Health and a Level I Trauma Center verified by the American College of Surgeons. The hospital is also a respected center for orthopedics, internal medicine, primary care and many other medical services. Founded in 1895 by the Sisters of Mercy, St. Joseph’s was the first hospital in the Phoenix area.
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Valleywise Health
Valleywise Health has a proud tradition of being Arizona’s only public teaching hospital and of serving the underserved.
Valleywise Health consists of the following:
- Valleywise Health Medical Center: The only Level I Trauma Center in Arizona verified by the American College of Surgeons to care for both adults and children
- Arizona’s only nationally verified Burn Center serving the entire Southwestern U.S.
- Valleywise Health’s McDowell Healthcare Center: The largest provider of HIV primary care in Arizona
- Refugee Women’s Health Clinic
- Arizona Children’s Center
- Two Behavioral Health Centers
- 13 neighborhood Family Health Centers
Affiliations
Collaboration with local institutions provides our residents with a balanced experience in managed care, private practice, critical care, ambulatory care and primary/preventative care.
In 2014, C. Lincoln Health Network and Scottsdale Healthcare officially merged and in March 2015 created HonorHealth. Drawing on two rich legacies, HonorHealth continues to be a locally owned, nonprofit, integrated health system. Their commitment is to provide local communities with:
- Personalized, connected, quality care with a focus on improving the health and well-being of those served
- More convenient access to healthcare
- Increased coordination of medical care
- An expanded network of high-quality primary care and specialty physicians
Phoenix Children's Hospital (PCH) is a 363-bed inpatient bed facility offering the most comprehensive pediatric health care in the state, providing inpatient, outpatient, trauma and emergency care across more than 70 pediatric subspecialties.
VA Phoenix Health Care System is dedicated to improving the lives of Veterans and their families every day. They proudly serve Veterans in central Arizona at the Carl T. Hayden VA Medical Center and 12 community-based outpatient VA clinics.
The Mayo Clinic – Arizona embraces the same mission and philosophy as its parent institution in Rochester, MN, combining clinical care, education, and research to best meet the needs of the patient.
Schedule:
A typical work week is Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. This includes both morning conferences from 7:30-8:30 a.m. and noon conferences from 12-1 p.m. These lectures are themed each month (ie Chest, MSK, Neuro), including a month of ‘bootcamp/basics’ lectures for new residents in July and ‘board review’ lectures in March and April.
Each rotation lasts 4 weeks. Possible rotations include Body, Chest, Mammography/Breast, Emergency, Nuclear medicine, Pediatrics, Ultrasound, Interventional Radiology, Neurology, and Musculoskeletal. These rotations may be at Valleywise, St. Joseph’s, the VA, Mayo or Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
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Call:
First years can expect to take weekend day call (7 a.m.-7 p.m. or 5 a.m.-5 p.m.) one weekend every four weeks, starting approximately in November of the first year. This call is supervised by an attending and you may, depending at which site you are at, have an internal moonlighter colleague to help you out. The remaining weekends are free to do as you like! During the second half of first year and beyond, residents also have occasional “Short Call” shifts. These are from noon to 10 p.m. on a weeknight, but the residents then get the following day off as post-call.
Second years and beyond take weekend night call and weekday nights. Weekday night assignments are 1 week at a time. At first your nights will be supervised by an attending, but eventually you will take independent overnight call.
Research:
All residents will be required to participate in a QI project and scholarly project, as per ACGME requirements. Additional opportunities are numerous and encouraged, but not required. Funding for research/conferences are available through the program.
