Maine Medical Center
Dr. Gerding in OR

Application & Contact Information

The Maine Medical Center (MMC) Integrated Interventional Radiology (IR) Residency Program only accepts applications through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).  Please note the ERAS Residency Timeline.  Our program's application deadline is October 31st.

MyERAS® Application and Program Signaling for 2023-2024

Over the last two recruitment seasons, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has administered two pilot cycles of the Supplemental ERAS® Application and Preference Signaling. The AAMC has, over the two seasons, collected feedback, in survey and focus group formats from applicants, medical student advisors, program directors to understand each group’s experience with the application process and based on the feedback have implemented changes to the application process for the upcoming recruitment season.

For the 2023-24 recruitment season, the AAMC has stated the Supplemental ERAS® Application and Preference Signaling will be fully integrated into the MyERAS® application. There will no longer be a separate application. Details of what is new can be found here.

The Association of Program Directors in IR (APDIR) and the Association of Program Directors in Diagnostic Radiology (APDR) have collaborated under a single title of Radiology for the Interventional Radiology-Integrated and Diagnostic Radiology residencies for the 2023-24 season. Radiology (IR and DR) this year will share a total of 12 signals using a tired method. Six (6) signals have been designated as gold (most preferred), and six (6) signals have been designated as silver (preferred). Applicants can use the 12 to signal IR only, DR only or a combination of IR and DR residency programs.

The purpose of preference signaling offers applicants an opportunity to notify programs in which they have a strong interest.

AAMC Guidance for Home and Away Rotation Program Signaling:

The AAMC suggests that applicants signal their most interested programs regardless of whether they are home or away rotations. This is the most fair and equitable process for all applicant types (MD, DO, and IMGs) and provides all programs that participate in receiving signals with the same information about interest level.

AAMC/Thalamus Collaboration:
On April 27, 2023, the AAMC announced their collaboration with Thalamus for the 2023-24 recruitment season. Details of the collaboration can be found here.

 
All integrated and independent interventional radiology training programs are required to participate in the Match services offered by the National Resident Matching Program Match (NRMP). Programs agree to abide by the NRMP Communications policies for each respective Match program.

The interventional radiology-integrated residency match is administered by the NRMP as part of the Main Residency Match. Visit the NRMP Main Residency Match Calendar for more information.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for appointment to the 60-month Maine Medical Center (MMC) Integrated Interventional Radiology (IR) Residency Program, residents must successfully complete a pre-requisite year of direct patient care in an ACGME-accredited residency program, AOA-approved residency program, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)-accredited or College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)-accredited residency program located in Canada, or in a residency program with ACGME International (ACGME-I) Advanced Specialty Accreditation. Because the MMC Integrated IR Residency Program is categorical, the majority of residents complete this year at MMC.

Residents must have successfully completed their prerequisite year of direct patient care in a program in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, surgery or surgical specialties, a transitional year, or any combination of these. The MMC Integrated IR Residency Program is categorical, and includes a preliminary surgery pre-requisite year at MMC.

The pre-requisite year must include a minimum of 36 weeks in direct patient care. During the prerequisite year, elective rotations in interventional radiology, diagnostic radiology, or nuclear medicine must occur only in radiology departments with a diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, or nuclear medicine residency program, and must not exceed a combined total of eight weeks. The elective rotations in radiology should involve active resident participation and must not be observational only. The elective rotations in radiology should be supervised by a radiology program faculty member.

An applicant must meet one of the following qualifications to be eligible for appointment to the MMC Integrated IR Residency Program:

  1. Graduation from a medical school in the United States or Canada accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), or graduation from a college of osteopathic medicine in the United States accredited by the American Osteopathic Association Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (AOACOCA).
  2. Graduation from a medical school outside of the United States or Canada, and meeting one of the following additional qualifications:
  • Holding a currently valid certificate from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) prior to appointment; or,
  • Holding a full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States licensing jurisdiction in which the ACGME-accredited program is located.

The MMC Department of Medical Education will sponsor matched international candidates with J-visas only.

Selection of Residents

The MMC Integrated IR Residency Program selects candidates with qualifications that meet the ACGME Common Program Requirements summarized above. Any request for eligibility exception must be approved in advance of offering an interview/ranking/position by the MMC GME Executive Committee.

Residents are selected from among eligible applicants on the basis of their ability, aptitude, academic credentials, communication skills, and personal qualities such as motivation and integrity. The MMC Integrated IR Residency Program engages in practices that focus on mission-driven, ongoing, systematic recruitment and retention of a diverse and inclusive workforce of residents, faculty members, senior administrative staff members, and other relevant members of its academic community. However, strong consideration is given to those students who come from the Tufts University School of Medicine Maine Track MD program, and/or have strong ties to Maine.

The MMC Integrated IR Residency Program is committed to maintaining an educational environment where all persons are treated with professionalism, dignity, and respect. All interactions and relationships among educators, learners, and other members of the hospital educational environment will be free of unlawful bias, prejudice, discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation, including as applicable on the basis of color, race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, transgender status or gender identity, age, physical or mental disability, whistleblower status, veteran or military status, national origin, or any other protected status protected by law.

Process:

  1. The MMC Integrated IR Residency Program participates in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) Main Residency Match. Recruitment practices follow procedures outlined by the NRMP. Candidates for positions outside The Match must be reviewed and approved by the Designated Institutional Official, or, in his or her absence, by the Vice President of Medical Education.
  2. All applicants are required to complete an application through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS), and submit this along with a personal statement, letters of recommendation (3), Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE or “Dean’s Letter”), medical school transcript, ECFMG Status Report (IMGs only), photograph, and United Stated Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) and COMLEX-USA transcripts. All applicants must have successfully passed the USMLE Step 1 exam. The program’s application deadline varies from year-to-year depending on the ERAS residency timeline, but it is approximately one month after ERAS releases applications and MSPEs to residency programs.
  3. After ERAS releases the applications (typically in September), the Residency Selection Committee (comprised of the individuals listed in #4 below) screens applications and selects applicants for interview using the following strategies:
    • Holistic review to evaluate all aspects of an application to look for “distance-traveled”, utilizing highest standards of practice, as described by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Holistic Review guidelines.
    • Blinding photographs of candidates until just prior to interviews.
    • Behavioral interviewing techniques, intentionally looking for candidate strength in criteria relevant to the program.
  4. The MMC Integrated IR Residency Program endorses virtual interviewing as one strategy of interview access for candidates. Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, applicants recruited outside The Match must be interviewed. Interviews are held on three days during the fall and/or winter. The applicants meet with the IR Residency Program Director, Associate Program Director, Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program Director or Associate Program Director, additional faculty members, and at least one resident. Applicants are assessed for their overall presentation and fit for the program. In keeping with ACGME and NRMP requirements, all interviewed applicants have an opportunity to review the MMC policies on visas, stipends, and benefits, as well as a sample MMC contract available on the DME website.
  5. At the end of the interviewing period, a final score is generated for each applicant. The Residency Selection Committee uses these scores to populate the NRMP Rank Order List (ROL).
  6. The MMC Integrated IR Residency Program may host one or more virtual, non-evaluative, “open house” event(s) at any time during the interview process. The process is structured such that the decision to attend is made solely by the medical student, who is confident that a choice not to attend will not adversely affect their ranking.
  7. The MMC Integrated IR Residency Program may also host one or more in-person, non-evaluative, open house event(s) in February, after the program’s NRMP ROL has been certified, but before the medical student ROL deadline (typically at the end of February or the beginning of March). The process is structured so that the decision to come to MMC is made solely by the medical student, who is confident that a choice not to travel to Maine will not adversely affect their ranking. Furthermore, the program will abide by the NRMP Match Participation Agreement Restrictions on Persuasion. Specifically, the program will not communicate with candidates about their ranking, even if a student who interviewed but was ultimately not ranked by the program chooses to attend an in-person open house.


Interview dates for the 2024 NRMP Main Residency Match:

  • January 9, 2024
  • January 12, 2024
  • January 26, 2024

Transfers into the PGY-3 or PGY-4 years must be from the equivalent level in the DR or integrated IR residency program.

Residents transferring into the PGY-5 year must have taken or be eligible to take the ABR Core Examination or the AOBR Diagnostic Radiology Combined Physics and Diagnostic Imaging Written Exam, and must have successfully completed at least three rotations in IR.

In January 2023, the Review Committee for Radiology discussed several inquiries related to the IR and DR resident transfer requirements listed below:

  • IR Requirement III.C.1.b):

    “Resident transfers from ACGME-accredited diagnostic radiology programs into integrated interventional radiology programs must be limited to transfers from within the same Sponsoring Institution and must meet the following qualifications for transfer.” (Core)

  • DR Requirement III.C.2.):

“Resident transfers from ACGME-accredited integrated interventional radiology programs into diagnostic radiology programs must be limited to transfers within the same Sponsoring Institution and must meet the following qualifications for transfer.” (Core)

Many of the inquiries expressed hardships with the statements above, which limit transfers to only those residents in radiology programs from within the same Sponsoring Institution.

Subsequently, the Review Committee re-evaluated the requirements, and determined that it will no longer enforce the transfer limitation from within the same Sponsoring Institution.

The Maine Medical Center Integrated Interventional Radiology Residency Program had an unexpected PGY-5 integrated IR resident vacancy on July 1, 2023.  Qualified applicants must have completed their PGY-4 year in either Integrated IR or Diagnostic Radiology at any institution.

The Maine Medical Center Dept. of Radiology has a tradition of excellence in residency training.  The MMC Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program was established in the 1950s as one of the first GME programs in the hospital.  The first IR resident clinic in the United States was founded at MMC in 2008.  Established in 2016, the MMC Integrated IR Residency was among the first to be accredited by the ACGME.  The MMC DR and IR programs remain the only radiology residencies in the state of Maine.  MMC is a 700-bed tertiary referral center and Maine’s only Level I Trauma Center.  Our faculty consists of over 40 radiologists including 8 IR, 1 NIR and 4 PAs.  There are 3 DR and 1 IR residents per year.

The program is located in Portland, the largest city in the state of Maine.  Portland is a historic seacoast town with a funky vibe, working waterfront, hundreds of galleries and unique shops, and award-winning restaurants.  Outside of Portland, Maine’s famous rocky coast, numerous islands, sandy beaches, unspoiled lakes, and majestic mountains offer limitless outdoor activities, such as swimming, surfing, hiking, camping, bicycling, kayaking, canoeing, snowmobiling, fishing, skiing, and so much more.

Applicants must have taken the ABR Qualifying (Core) Exam and successfully completed at least three IR rotations by June 30, 2023. To apply, please email the following to Shawn Harmon, MMC Integrated IR Residency Program Manager (shawn.harmon@mainehealth.org):

  • Cover letter explaining your interest in this position and the reason for leaving your current residency program
  • CV
  • Medical school transcript and MSPE (“Dean’s Letter”)
  • USMLE transcript
  • Most recent ACGME Milestones evaluation

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.  Interviews will be scheduled virtually at the convenience of the applicant and the program.

Shawn Harmon
Residency Program Manager

Maine Medical Center Integrated IR Residency Program
22 Bramhall Street
Portland, ME 04102

Phone: (207) 662-4279
Fax: (207) 662-5255
Email: Shawn.Harmon@mainehealth.org

Contact Us

Residency Program Manager

Shawn Harmon
207-662-4279
Shawn.Harmon@mainehealth.org