The Radiology Residency offers four tracks to provide residents dedicated time to pursue training to further personal interests and career opportunities. Each track offers resident participants one half academic day per week on rotations to meet track requirements and work on applicable projects. Residents may apply to pursue multiple tracks over their training at UT Southwestern if interested. Residents R2 year and above are eligible for up to a half academic day per week to meet track requirements and complete a capstone project.

Resident Scholars

The Resident Scholars track offers dedicated time, training, and mentorship for residents interested in a strong research background to their career. The track includes a lecture series on various aspects of academic research, including such topics as grant writing and statistics, a form of training that many medical educations lack. In addition, residents complete an academic project during the year with a faculty mentor to offer personal guidance from a strong academic Radiologist. This is an excellent opportunity for those residents interested in furthering their careers in academics.

QIRT

The Quality Improvement Resident Track (QIRT) offers residents dedicated time and training in Quality Improvement, an important and increasing requirement of clinical practice. Residents develop Quality Improvement projects with the aid of a faculty mentor, learn methods of quality improvement through a dedicated curriculum, and have the opportunity for involvement in clinical operations committees at UT Southwestern.

CERT

The Clinician Educators Resident Track (CERT) offers residents interested in medical education opportunities for dedicated training in this field. The track offers a monthly journal club on topics in education and educational literature, the opportunity to attend faculty development lectures on education, and opportunities for involvement in the education of other residents and medical students. CERT residents also complete an educational project over the 12 months with mentorship in research to create education interventions that can be evaluated using measurable and meaningful metrics.

I²BIT

The Imaging Informations and Business Intelligence Track (I²BIT) prepares residents to use imaging informatics for effective decision-making and process improvement in their future clinical, educational, and research endeavors. Residents participate in focused small group sessions and practical department-wide projects for hands-on experience in creating innovative solutions using imaging informatics principles. Track participants also learn the basics about artificial intelligence (AI) in radiology, including topics such as tool creation, tool deployment/monitoring, and the ethics of AI. Residents in this track serve as liaisons between the diagnostic/interventional radiology training programs and the Imaging Informatics faculty.

Former Participants

QIRT

2017-18

• Kelly Tornow, M.D.
• Amanda Gleason, M.D.
• Joseph McDevitt, M.D.

2016-17

• Michael Collard, M.D.
• Nathan Dettori, M.D.
• Benjamin White, M.D.

2015-16

• Ankaj Khosla, M.D.
• Jason Smith, M.D.
• Kevin Kadakia, M.D.

CERT

2017-18

• Benjamin White, M.D. (Junior Faculty Leader)
• Praveen Ranganath, M.D.
• Heather Early, M.D.
• Samantha Castillo, M.D.

Testimonials

Joseph McDevitt, M.D.

My participation in the QIRT is one of the most influential experiences I have had in my education and training. The QIRT provides all of the necessary foundations for growth in the skills necessary for leadership and quality improvement: didactic training, practical application, and mentorship. Specifically, the practical application and mentorship makes participation in the QIRT particularly valuable.

Like in clinical medicine, there is an “art” to leading and completing a quality project that is much more difficult than what one can learn from a textbook or journal article. This “art” includes presenting results succinctly and successfully to a variety of audiences and stakeholders, building support for an initiative, attention to detail in the implementation of developed solutions over an extended period of time, and the willingness to chart a new course after initial failure. Such skills can only be learned through practice, and that practice is much more focused and successful with the help of mentors who have previously navigated similar situations. I had the benefit of an interesting, impactful project, with the help of experienced mentors each step of the way.

The QIRT also exposes one to the importance and scale of quality initiatives. It is extremely gratifying to target a “pain point” you see in either the patient experience or radiology workflow and be able to change it for both the benefit of your patients and your colleagues. Like research, completion of a quality project through the QIRT allows one to scale their impact beyond the patients they can directly influence in a clinical workday.

My experience in the QIRT has also helped me refine my career goals and interests, as it confirmed my desire to pursue quality and leadership work in my future health system. As a result, I have elected to pursue more experiences and training to help me achieve my goals and build upon what I have learned in the QIRT.

Michael Collard, M.D.

The QIRT was a great opportunity to learn about hospital management and develop the skills to make the radiology department a safer and more productive place. I was given the freedom to design my own project and assemble my own team, developing an effective project whose results were recently published in a major medical quality journal. This experience was the most common item on my CV that I was asked about during fellowship interviews, demonstrating the universal interest in medical quality.