Department of
Radiology

Medical Student Education

The two-week General Radiology elective is offered several times a year for all interested fourth year medical students.  The curriculum was recently updated to include a highly structured schedule designed to efficiently teach basics of radiology in rich clinical context that is both brain-friendly and fun.  This elective is aimed to educate both aspiring radiologists and future clinicians looking to improve their image interpreting skills.

We encourage students from other medical schools who are interested in the radiology residency program at WVU to consider signing up for this elective as an "away rotation."  WVU participates in VSLO.

More information about the General Radiology elective can be found on the Official WVU SOM MS4 Catalogue.

Specialty electives are also offered in Neuroradiology, Interventional Radiology, and Nuclear Medicine.

General Learning Objectives

Global learning objectives for this elective are for you to master Radiology skills Clinical Residency Program directors consider “Essential” for when you begin your internships: (Kondo KL, Swerdlow M. Medical student radiology curriculum: What skills do residency program directors believe are essential for medical students to attain? Acad Radiol. 2013 Mar;20(3):263-71.)

  • Communicate relevant clinical history when ordering a radiologic study
  • Choose most appropriate radiologic study for workup of common clinical situations
  • Basic knowledge of limitations of radiologic studies
  • Recognize common abnormal findings on CXR
  • Recognize common abnormal findings on AXR
  • Systematic approach to viewing CXR
  • Systematic approach to viewing AXR
     

We also incorporate teaching for:

  1. Emphasis on common emergent imaging findings
  2. Developing basic interpretative skills in CT, including chest and abdominal anatomy
  3. Learning where image guided invasive procedures are beneficial
  4. Understanding risks and benefits of imaging – particularly the risks associated with radiation exposure and awareness of the potential impact of unnecessary or repeat CT imaging in patients. This includes understanding the concept of high-risk groups (children and young patients especially females, pregnant patients) for radiation exposure especially from CT scans and how to minimize risk.