Curriculum | Interventional Radiology Residency

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The PGY 2-4 diagnostic radiology curriculum consists of:

• Interventional Radiology: 1.5 months during PGY-2, and 2 months each year from PGY 3-4. PGY 5-6 are primarily spent in IR.Please refer to the “Interventional Radiology” tab for details.
• Abdominal Radiology: Approximately three months of dedicated body CT and MRI rotations, with extensive additional exposure during the Emergency Radiology, Late Stay, and Night Float rotations as well as Weekend Call (approximately seven additional months - see descriptions below).
• Breast Radiology: Twelve weeks of dedicated rotations (one month each year from PGY 3-5), during which residents learn screening and diagnostic mammography, breast ultrasound, ductography, and breast MRI. Residents also receive procedural training in US, stereotactic, and MRI-guided biopsies. Residents interpret the minimum number of mammograms within the specified time period as designated by the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA) regulations.
• Cardiothoracic Radiology: Approximately three months of dedicated roations, during which residents learn chest radiography, CT, lung screening CT, cardiac CT, and cardiac MRI.
• Musculoskeletal Radiology: Approximately two months of dedicated rotations, during which residents become competent in plain radiography, CT, MRI, and procedures such as arthrography. There is additional exposure during the Emergency Radiology, Late Stay, and Night Float rotations as well as Weekend Call (see descriptions below).
• Neuroradiology: Approximately three months of dedicated Neuro CT and MRI rotations, along with extensive additional exposure during Night Float rotations (three-to-four additional months - see description below).Residents become competent in CT and MRI of the head, neck, and spine, as well as procedures such as lumbar puncture and myelography. 
• Nuclear Radiology: Four dedicated rotationsmonths (one month each year from PGY 2-5), during which residents become competent in all nuclear radiology diagnostic and therapeutic techniques. As required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), each resident completes a minimum of 700 hours of training and work experience in basic radionuclide handling techniques and radiation safety applicable to the medical use of unsealed byproduct material for imaging and localization studies and oral administration of sodium iodide I-131. This includes a minimum of eighty hours of classroom and laboratory training. There is also a dedicated yttrium-90 dosimetry curriculum.
• Pediatric Radiology: Approximately four months, including three months at Boston Children's Hospital during PGY-3. MaineHealth Maine Medical Centermaintains an apartment next to Boston Children’s Hospital that includes parking. For many residents, this special opportunity is the highlight of their residency. There is additional exposure at MHMMC Portland in a rotation combined with radiography/fluoroscopy.
• Radiography/Fluoroscopy: Approximately two months in a rotation combined with pediatric radiology. Residents become competent in a broad range of fluoroscopy procedures, including esophagrams, upper GI exams, upper GI with small bowel follow through, modified barium swallows, diagnostic enemas, fistulograms, defecography, and sialograms.
• Ultrasonography: Approximately two months of dedicated rotations, including an OB ultrasound rotation.  There is dedicated time to learn hands-on US with image acquisition, including simulation training. Residents have additional US exposure during their Emergency Radiology, Late Stay, and Night Float rotations as well as Weekend Call (see descriptions below).
• Radiologic Pathology Correlation Course: One-month course at the American College of Radiology (ACR) Institute for Radiologic Pathology (AIRP) in Washington, DC, during PGY-4. The course can be completed either in-person or virtually. (MHMMC pays for virtual tuition.) This is considered a training  highlight for many residents. Please refer to the “Conferences & Didactics” tab for details.
• Research: All residents receive approximately two months of dedicated research time, and are required to complete at least one scholarly project and one quality improvement project with a faculty mentor by graduation.
• Emergency Radiology/Late Stay: IR residents spend two months in dedicated weekday Emergency Radiology rotations during PGY-2. During PGY 2-5, IR residents spend approximately three months covering a weekday Emergency Radiology swing shift called "Late Stay". There is direct supervision by attending radiologists after 5pm.
• Night Float: IR residents cover Emergency Radiology overnight from Sunday through Thursday for a total of approximately three months during PGY 2-5 (primarily PGy-3). They provided preliminary image interpretation, under indirect supervision by remote attending radiologists.
• Weekend "Call": Every weekend, Emergency Radiology is covered by one resident overnight on Friday and Saturday, and another during the day on Saturday and Sunday.  The former resident has the preceding Friday off, and the latter has the following Monday off.  These shifts (not really "call") are split among all PGY 2-5 IR and DR residents (primarily PGY 3-4).
• Electives: Residents have two months of elective time (one month during PGY-4 and one month during PGY-6), during which they can have additional experience in any of the rotations listed above.
• Vacation: Residents may take up to 21 working days of vacation per year, which are banked at the beginning of each academic year. Residents are encouraged to use all of their vacation time every year. However, they may choose to roll over three days into the next academic year.

Interventional Radiology

MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Portland:

• Four to five months during PGY 5-6
• Four state-of-the-art angiography suites:
  • One dedicated biplane, two single plane, and one hybrid OR/IR biplane.
• Full array of diagnostic and therapeutic, vascular and nonvascular procedures using fluoroscopy, CT, and US guidance.
• Full consult and admitting service:
  • Two IR attendings, two to four advanced practice providers, one to two residents, and up to one medical student on service daily.
• Weekend IR home call is shared among all PGY 2-6 IR and DR residents (primarily PGY-2 and 5-6), with a post-call day off the following week.

St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center:

• Two to three months each year during PGY 5-6
• 220-bed community hospital in Lewiston, ME:
  • 50-minute drive from Portland.
• The Vascular Care CEnter was founded by and is exclusively staffed by IR:
  • MHMMC IR attendings rotate coverage daily.
  • Full-time nurse practitioner and vascular navigator.
• Approximately 10 patient encounters per day:
  • Half day in clinic performing new outpatient consults, follow-up visits, and varicose vein procedures (endovenous ablation, sclerotherapy, phlebectomy, etc.).
  • Half day in IR suite performing procedures (high volume of peripheral artery disease due to robust relationship between IR and the St. Mary’s Center for Hyperbaric & Wound Care).

Pediatric IR

Boston Children’s Hospital:

• Two months during PGY-6.
• The only children's hospital to have been on the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children's Hospitals Honor Roll every year since the publication began ranking children's hospitals in 2007.
• Work with other IR residents from New England.
• MHMMC maintains an apartment next to Boston Children’s Hospital that includes parking.

IR Clinic

RAYUS Vascular Care:

• One day/week during all IR rotations in PGY 2-6 and dedicated month/year during PGY 5-6.
• 15-minute drive from MHMMC Portland.
• Two patient exam rooms, a diagnostic ultrasound room, and a procedure room with fluoroscopy C-arm.
• MHMMC IR attendings rotate coverage daily.
• Fully staffed by IR technologists, ultrasonographers, nurses, and medical assistants.
• Approximately 12 patient encounters per day:
  • New consults and follow-up visits.
  • Procedures including embolization to treat pelvic congestion syndrome, symptomatic uterine fibroids, varicocele, and osteoarthritis-related knee pain; endovascular revascularization to treat claudication and critical limb ischemia; ablation, sclerotherapy, and phlebectomy to treat varicose veins; and various image-guided injection procedures and biopsies.  There is also a high volume of diagnostic, therapeutic, and palliative interventional oncology procedures because of proximity to the region’s largest cancer-specific practice, New England Cancer Specialists, which is located in the same building.

St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center:

• Two to three months each year during PGY 5-6.
• 220-bed community hospital in Lewiston, ME:
  • 50-minute drive from Portland.
• The Vascular Care Center was founded by and is exclusively staffed by IR:
  • MHMMC IR attendings rotate coverage daily.
  • Full-time nurse practitioner and vascular navigator.
• Approximately 10 patient encounters per day:
  • Half day in clinic performing new outpatient consults, follow-up visits, and varicose vein procedures (endovenous ablation, sclerotherapy, phlebectomy, etc.).
  • Half day in IR suite performing procedures (high volume of peripheral artery disease due to robust relationship between IR and the St. Mary’s Center for Hyperbaric & Wound Care).

Off-service Rotations

Neuroendovascular Intervention:

• One month/year during PGY 5-6.
• One interventional neuroradiologist and two endovascular neurosurgeons.
• High volume/complexity service.
• MHMMC Portland  is a certified Comprehensive Stroke Center by the Joint Commission.

Interventional Nephrology:

• One month/year during PGY 5-6.
• Five-minute drive from MHMMC Portland.
• Two interventional nephrologists.
• Tunneled hemodialysis catheters, dialysis fistula/graft angiograms and interventions, etc.

Wound Care:

• One month during PGY 6.
• MHMMC Wound Care is a 5-minute drive from MHMMC-Portland.

Vascular Surgery:

• One month during PGY-5 and elective month during PGY-6
• Endovascular aortic aneurysm repair experience.

Critical Care:

• One month during PGY-5 in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit.

VA:

• One month elective during PGY-6.
• Togus VA Medical Center is a one-hour drive from MHMMC-Portland, in Augusta, ME.
• Combined IR and vascular surgery experience.

View the PGY 2-6 integrated IR and PGY 2-5 ESIR block diagrams.