Radiology Residency Program

Congratulations on your choice of Radiology as a Career! We believe that Radiology remains one of the most exciting and challenging disciplines in medicine. We appreciate your interest in the Radiology Residency Program at the University of Kansas Medical Center. We offer a fully accredited 4-year training program in Diagnostic Radiology. Our Program has a proven record in the production of well trained radiologists. A progressive increase in responsibility for the performance and interpretation of radiological studies under the close supervision of dedicated subspecialty teaching staff continues to be a successful method to achieve this goal. Our residents have long history of high achievement on the written and oral American Board of Radiology examination. Our graduates receive superb clinical training and are readily accepted into both private practice and prestigious fellowship programs throughout the country.

There is currently an excellent group of 22 residents in training with varied medical and geographical backgrounds. The talent and enthusiasm of our residents help create a learning environment which is stimulating and enjoyable. We believe that learning Radiology is not always easy, but should almost always be fun. As there is only one fellow per year (in Interventional Radiology), there is close resident-faculty interaction. Residents, not fellows, are the focus of clinical and educational activities! Residents are involved in the selection of new residents; are represented on major departmental and institutional committees; and are consulted prior to major curriculum or policy changes.

Six residents are selected each year through the National Resident Matching Program. The American Board of Radiology requires that all candidates must have an accredited year of clinical training in addition to four years of radiology residency. We are now accepting applications from candidates to begin radiology residency in July 2009. Candidates must complete one year of clinical training in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Surgery, OB/Gyn, Neurology, Family Practice, Emergency Medicine or any combination of these prior to beginning training in our program. The clinical year may not contain more than three months of radiology and/or pathology training. Our Department of medicine offers a suitable internship year and will make every effort to accommodate promising applicants to our program who wish to do the clinical year and radiology residency in Kansas City. However, this requires a separate ERAS application and interview with the Department of Medicine (913-588-6050).

There are 20 faculty members in the department and affiliated VA hospital. The continued excellence of our faculty in teaching and research is evidenced by numerous publications, national and international scientific presentations, and teaching awards. Several faculty serve as reviewers or editors for the major radiology journals. Four of our faculty has served as examiners for the American Board of Radiology oral examination. Faculty in each of the subspecialty areas presents daily resident teaching conferences, and there are a wide variety of intra- and interdepartmental clinical conferences that offer excellent learning opportunities. Our residents attend the four-week Armed Forces Institute of Pathology radiology/pathology course in Washington, D.C. Resident participation in research is strongly encouraged but optional. Paying for the resident’s costs to attend the meeting at which the work is presented rewards significant research contributions. About half of the residents have presented papers or scientific exhibits at major radiological meetings.

The University of Kansas Medical Center is the only teaching and research hospital in the State of Kansas and serves the entire state and the greater Kansas City area. The University Hospital is a 450-bed tertiary care facility with just over 19,062 patient admissions last year, and 231,508 outpatient encounters in the hospital. The Radiology Department is well equipped and performed 160,048 diagnostic and therapeutic procedures last year. The department has installed, implemented and essentially is filmless with a GE Centricity 2.0 PACS system. We operate Powerscribe, voice recognition system. We have 3 dedicated CT body scanners, including a two sixty-four-slice Siemens “Volume Zoom” with 3D workstation, GE dual slice, and a GE 16 slice with a 3D workstation. There are two high field strength (1.5 tesla) Siemens MRI scanners with one having a state-of-the-art echo-planar, spectroscopy, and the newly added CadStream Breast Perfusion Imaging Software. We have an extremely busy section of diagnostic ultrasound with four-color Doppler systems and one additional color Doppler systems (and soon to be a second) located in the Breast Center. The vascular/interventional section is a busy service offering a complete range of diagnostics and therapeutic interventional procedures including biopsies, abscess draining, angioplasty and stenting, embolization, radiofrequency ablation, TIPS, IVC filter placement, aortic stent graft placement and many other state-of-the-art and cutting edge procedures. Our neurointerventional radiology service performs coiling of cerebral aneurysms, carotid stenting, stroke thrombolysis, vertebroplasties, and a variety of other neurointerventional procedures. We perform over 12,000 in-vivo and in-vitro nuclear medicine procedures yearly and have 5 gamma cameras, including a triple head and dual head SPECT systems, Canberra thyroid uptake probe and a newly installed GE 16 slice PET/CT scanner for image fusion. Included in the division of Nuclear Medicine is an internal Radiopharmacy that also operates an on-site cyclotron for PET radiopharmaceutical production. The Division of Image Science and Technology conducts and supports basic research and has an internationally recognized NIH-funded research team investigating tissue characterization with ultrasound. They also conduct a formal didactic course in radiological physics to prepare residents for the physics component of the Radiology Board Examination.

We provide an excellent benefits package. The Hospital and State cover personal and family health insurance and professional malpractice insurance. The Department provides $4,800 during residency for the purchase of books or other educational materials. Currently, an additional $1,800 is provided to cover tuition and transportation for the AFIP course. The Department also pays resident parking permits and half of the membership fee to the Kirmayer Fitness Center. As of July 1, 2006, the first-year Radiology resident stipend is $40,283 (PGY2). There are three weeks of paid vacation per year. Third and fourth year residents in good standing may provide Radiology locum tenens coverage at approved locations in Kansas for additional income.

We will accept applications through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERASTM) when the post office opens later in August. The University of Kansas Medical Center is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Application are sought from all qualified people regardless of race, religion, color, sex, disability, veteran status, national origin, age, or ancestry. A complete application includes personal statement, photograph, copy of all USMLE scores available, medical school transcript, and at least three letters of recommendation. You will be contacted by e-mail when your application is complete. The deadline for receipt for applications is December 1, 2006. However, we encourage you to submit your application sooner for earlier consideration. The Resident Selection Committee will review complete applications and selected candidates will be invited for interviews from November through January. Interviews will be conducted on Fridays in November, December, and January. The Department of Radiology residency is a four-year program. The transistional year is an additional match. If you have any additional questions about our Program, please write of call the Residency Program Coordinators, Ms. Mary Monroe (913-588-6805) or Ms. Sherry Bassett (913-588-1821). We look forward to hearing from you, and wish you success in your application and interview process!

Philip L. Johnson, MD
Residency Program Director
Interventional Fellowship Program Director
Head, Section Vascular/Interventional Radiology

Go to the ERAS website.

The Kansas City Community
Geographically, Kansas City covers a very large area so that one experiences the spaciousness and lack of transportation congestion of a smaller city. As a major city, job opportunities are usually available in a number of different areas. Kansas City has a diversified economic base with an emphasis on communication, transportation, and financial services. The area's school systems and programs of higher education have received national acclaim.

Shopping is convenient and in several attractive locations including: Historic Westport Square, The Crown Center Complex downtown, and the Country Club Plaza just southeast of KUMC.

Rental opportunities are abundant in all price ranges close to KUMC. Housing, as well as general cost-of-living expenses, is quite reasonable when compared with national averages.

Music and visual arts enthusiasts will find rich opportunities for expression and appreciation in the famous Nelson-Atkins Art Gallery, The Kansas City Art Institute, The Kansas City Conservatory of Music, The Lyric Opera, the Kansas City Symphony, and many theater groups. Fans of professional sports have easy access to Royals baseball and Chiefs football. Outdoor sports and recreation facilities are available in abundance. Hunting, fishing, boating, camping, and hiking are available in the immediate vicinity, and especially in Missouri's Ozark country, three to four hours away. Kansas City is famous as a city of parks for family enjoyment (302 available in the metropolitan area). Other attractions include the Kansas City Zoo and Starlight Theater in Swope Park, Worlds of Fun/Oceans of Fun amusement centers, and Nascar Race Facility.

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