Department of
Radiology

Program Design

The guiding principle for rotation scheduling is fulfillment of resident educational objectives. The rotation schedule and educational program for residents assure adequate training in all domains of practice with graduated responsibility. Opportunities are abundantly provided for supervised practice of radiological consultative, interpretive, and interventive skills in tertiary and primary care settings. 

Program Information

Our program has full continuing accreditation by the ACGME. We have a complete complement of 28 residents. We are also an ACGME accredited ESIR program.

ADVANCED track positions only are offered for the fall 2024 recruiting season (i.e., an ACGME accredited preliminary year must be completed prior to starting radiology residency at WVU)

Start date of training July 1, 2026
NRMP Program Code 1837420A0
Quota: 7 positions to fill

Program Director: Cara Lombard, MD

Rotation Schedule

1st year

Our program has a highly structured first year with several assessments and assignments to ensure residents are ready for successful transition from directly supervised duties to indirectly supervised overnight call duty that begins in the second year of residency. We provide subscription based access to Radiology Ronin/Titan Radiology, StatDx, e-anatomy, MRI Online, and RadPrimer, which is a comprehensive radiology curriculum used by more than 80% of University based radiology residency programs.  

  • Initial 5 blocks for R1 trainees include Cardiothoracic, Abdominal, Neuro, Musculoskeletal, and Emergency Radiology rotations. All rotations are 4 weeks in length. These 5 initial first year resident rotations ensure initial immersive experiences in clinical areas needed to begin evening (4-9pm) Emergency Radiology coverage, which is taken with a more senior resident + the on call faculty member who provides on-site direct supervision
  • January ACR Diagnostic In-Training Exam (DXIT) is given to R1 (and all other radiology resident levels)

During the spring of your 1st year, applications for the Nuclear Medicine 16-month Pathway open to allow appropriate required rotations to be applied to the residents learning track. 

2nd year

13 four week long rotations per academic year. Residents rotate though the various domains of practice needed to build increasing proficiency in interpretations, decision making, and gain hands on procedural experience. Our second year residents are guided by faculty to make progressive academic progress and undergo professional growth as part of an effective team member, gradually gaining skills to lead teams delivering top quality radiological care.

During the spring of your 2nd year, applications for the ESIR track open to allow ESIR designation prior to interviewing for fellowships. 

3rd year

13 four week long rotations per academic year. Residents rotate though the various domains of practice and achieve specialty expertise in interpretations and polish experience in procedure related decision making and hands on performance. Most residents begin seriously exploring fellowship options and begin interviews.  Third year residents continue making academic progress and undergo professional growth into leadership roles in effective teams delivering top quality radiological care with faculty oversight and guidance. 3rd year residents continue reading to refine and supplement their enhanced levels of clinical responsibility, and this gradual integration, application, and organization of knowledge is the effective clinical component of preparation for their mastery of the discipline.

In Fall of the 3rd year, program provides time and funding for residents to attend the 4 week AIRP course in Washington, DC in preparation for taking the ABR Core Exam. Beginning in early March and continuing until the ABR Core Exam, the 3rd year residents who are scheduled to take the exam are scheduled preferentially in rotations that are primarily interpretive (i.e., do not have as heavy direct patient care workload, do not have major procedures of long duration, do not require as much communication/coordination with referring services as the more procedurally oriented rotations). These also are rotations in which the faculty supervised clinical learning opportunities efficiently run from either 7:30 or 8:00 am and finish up at 4:30 or 5:00 pm. When the work finishes early, 3rd year residents are sometimes excused early during the pre-exam blocks. Faculty members offer focused high yield pre-Board review sessions. 

The rotation block before the Core Exam, third year residents are assigned a four week study time block.

4th year

Our program offers flexibility during the 4th year of residency for trainees to prepare for their individual career trajectories. We have allowed residents to take up to 4 months in domains of practice selected by the resident. Research and clinical electives can be arranged with approval of the program director.

On Call Training

We use a night float system for covering the hospital from 9pm-8am. This assignment is shared by senior residents (R2-R4).  The duty cycles are divided into weekday / 5 night (Sunday through Thursday) and weekend / 2 night (Friday and Saturday) blocks.  Night float occurs at a frequency of two weeks and two weekends every six months.

Weekend call is shared by two residents, with one covering the ED and the other covering inpatient exams.  From Mid- November through June, 1st year residents join in the responsibility for covering the ED under the direct supervision of the staff and with the aid of a senior resident. This assignment is 8am-9pm.

Similarly, Weekday Evening call is also shared by two residents with one covering the ED and the other covering inpatient CTs.  From Mid-November through June, 1st year residents join in the responsibility for covering the ED under the direct supervision of the staff and with the aid of a senior resident. This is but one of the places where intentional laddered mentoring is incorporated into our program. This assignment is 4pm-9pm.

ESIR

The ESIR resident curriculum during your fourth year continues more intensive rotations through the procedural sections for a total of 9 rotations of the year including a clinical rotation through the ICU.