The training consists of both clinical and didactic elements in the main areas of diagnostic imaging physics. The clinical portion of the training is supervised by the medical physics faculty. The resident is initially exposed to medical equipment testing and progressively his/her responsibilities in the testing is increased with the goal of testing and reporting independently. Residents are provided extensive opportunities to learn and practice routine and acceptance testing and other specialized testing. Procedures developed by ACR and those recommended by AAPM are followed where possible. The resident’s progress is reviewed and evaluated by the faculty. The 24 months of residency training will also include a didactic portion covering the following modalities and topics where each faculty member is assigned to specific topics:
- Radiation Protection & Shielding
- General Radiographic Imaging
- Fluoroscopy and Interventional Radiology
- Digital Mammography and Stereotactic Breast Biopsy
- Computed Tomography
- MRI
- Ultrasound
- Nuclear Medicine
- PACS/DICOM and Informatics
- Medical Image Processing and Image Quality Characterization
Each resident is evaluated to identify areas of strength and areas that need additional work. A typical didactic rotation schedule over the two years is included below. The time and emphasis placed on a modality may be adjusted to accommodate specific needs of the resident.
Residents are also required to attend weekly graduate seminars held in the Radiological Sciences department and present a seminar each year on a topic based on their research project or other imaging projects. Residents are encouraged to find a research project and work with a faculty member on the research project. They are expected to present their research project at a regional/national meeting during their residency training. Residents are encouraged to present at national meetings through funding to cover expenses associated with attending the meeting.
Teaching forms the third element of the residency training program and is considered a necessary element in a residency training to develop effective communication with physicians, technologists and administrators and other physicists. The senior resident is required to participate in teaching clinical testing to the junior resident and graduate students. Residents are expected to participate in teaching diagnostic physics labs. The resident is asked to set up the diagnostic physics labs for graduate students and clearly explain the steps involved and the reasons for each test.
Sample Didactic Training Schedule