Diagnostic Radiology Residency

Mission Statement

Program Information

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General Program Information:

The mission of the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California is to improve the quality of life for individuals and society by promoting health, preventing and curing disease, advancing biomedical research and educating tomorrow’s physicians and scientists.

The mission of the County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services is to provide accessible, affordable, and culturally sensitive health care, one person at a time to the poor and underserved of Los Angeles County.

These two entities have joined to sponsor the GME residency training programs based at the USC Health Sciences Campus. This joint sponsorship results in a unique educational, clinical, and research environment located in one of the most culturally diverse regions of our nation. On campus are 52 training programs approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (www.acgme.org) with about 900 residents. All residents in the Department of Radiology are employees of the County of Los Angeles. Resident salaries and benefits are negotiated with the County by the Committee of Interns & Residents (www.lacusc.org/GME, www.cirseiu.org).

The USC Department of Radiology provides residents with faculty, conferences, research opportunities, administrative staffing, as well as financial benefits not provided by Los Angeles County such as support to attend scientific meetings and the Radiology-Pathology Correlation Course in Washington , D.C.

Benefits are outlined in more detail on this site. 

The core experience of the residency in Diagnostic Radiology is centered at LAC+USC Medical Center. Most clinical rotations and conferences occur here. Complementary experiences occur at USC University Hospital and at Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. One-on-one faculty time occurs at all clinical venues. Because the case volume is high, educational experience for residents is enriched by the presence of fellows in subspecialty programs in Interventional Radiology, Neuroradiology, Advanced Body Imaging, Musculoskeletal Radiology, Women’s Imaging, and Nuclear Medicine.

The Department of Radiology includes approximately 70 faculty members in 8 clinical divisions: cardiothoracic imaging, abdominopelvic imaging, pediatric radiology, neuroradiology, women’s imaging, interventional radiology, nuclear medicine, musculoskeletal radiology. Clinical experience covers all imaging modalities, including plain radiography, fluoroscopy, CT (including high resolution CT and 64-slice cardiac imaging as well as CTA), MR (including perfusion and diffusion imaging as well as MRA), PET, PET/CT, angiography, radionuclide imaging and treatment, Ultrasound, mammography, image guided intervention including all imaging modalities as guidance systems. Curriculum also includes physics, non-interpretive topics, and is in full compliance with ACGME program requirements.   

Requirements for admission and maintenance of good standing status

Immigration Status:  Residents must be US citizens, permanent residents or have a J-1 Visa. The institution does not sponsor H-1 Visas. (www.lacusc.org/GME)

Medical Education:  Resident must be a graduate of an LCME accredited US or Canadian medical school or, for graduates of international medical schools, be in compliance with ECFMG requirements for post-graduate training in the US.

Clinical Year (Internship):  Because this residency is an advanced residency (PGY 2 – PGY5), it must be preceded by satisfactory completion of an ACGME-approved clinical year. This clinical year must be in compliance with ACGME program requirements for Diagnostic Radiology (www.acgme.org).

California State Medical Licensure:  All Graduate Medical trainees in the state of California who are graduates of US or Canadian medical schools must have a California State Medical License by the end of the 24th month of residency training (completion of the PGY2 year). All Graduate Medical trainees in the state of California who are International Medical graduates must have a California State Medical License by the end of the 36th month of residency training (end of the PGY3 year). Further information about licensure requirements is available at the following sites: www.lacusc.org/GME/ & www.mbc.ca.gov. The program coordinator wil help initiate the licensure process at the beginning of the PGY2 year. License renewal is required every two years.

State radiography / fluoroscopy operator and supervisor permits: California state law requires that all physicians who operate or supervise the operation of radiography and fluoroscopy equipment have a valid operator/supervisor permit to do so. Permit acquisition requires that the physician pass a competency/safety test. A valid California State Medical license is required to qualify for the radiography/fluoroscopy permit.  Therefore, our department requires that these permits be in place by the completion of the 30th month of residency training (by December 31 of the PGY3 year). The program coordinator will assist in this process.  Renewal is required every two years.

BLS / ACLS Certification:  All residents must maintain BLS and ACLS certification.  Support for this process is provided by the institution.

Clinical Rotations by Year:  A sample of the current block schedule is noted below. This block schedule applies to residents who entered this program on or before July 2009. In the current schedule, each block is 5 or 6 weeks long.  

The configuration of the block schedule is different for residents beginning residency in Diagnostic Radiology on or after July 1, 2010 in order to ensure optimal preparation for the new certification testing schedule implemented by the American Board of Radiology. Changes involve increasing the amount of advanced imaging in years 1-3 of residency; and increasing elective time in year 4. To accomplish this, the PGY2 – 4 years will be divided into 11 blocks.  A representative sample of the new block schedule is outlined below.

The final year of residency will be divided into 4 3-month blocks. Each resident will complete two required blocks, one in general radiology, structured as a transition to practice rotation that will include all imaging modalities in body imaging; and one that will include one month each of nuclear medicine, neuroradiology, and mammography in order to meet ACGME requirements. The other two blocks will be elective “mini-fellowships” in two areas of specific interest to each resident. 

Compliance with ACGME Program Requirements:  The radiology residency operates in compliance with Common Program Requirements for GME and Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Diagnostic Radiology (www.acgme.org). Of specific note:

• Each clinical rotation has PGY level-specific goals and objectives for each of the six ACGME clinical competencies which are posted on an internal website available for review at any time.
• Resident performance with respect to the six clinical competencies is evaluated by supervising faculty at the completion of each rotation. These evaluations are available for review at any time by the resident.
• Each resident evaluates each clinical rotation at its completion. These evaluations are anonymous and are presented to division directors at each annual program review as a quality improvement tool.
• Each resident has the opportunity to evaluate each faculty person anonymously once during the academic year.  Evaluation results are used by division directors as a quality improvement tool.
• All residents and all faculty members have the opportunity to evaluate the residency program on a yearly basis.  These evaluations are reviewed during the annual program review.
• Programmatic oversight is provided by the departmental Graduate Medical Education Committee, chaired by the program director. Committee membership is made up of faculty and residents. Resident members (one for each class) are peer selected. The committee meets on a bi-monthly basis.
• Resident learning portfolios are implemented.
• Residents are required to participate in scholarly activity and in quality improvement projects.
• The department holds nine hours of educational conferences each week. Individual divisional conferences and interdepartmental conferences provide additional educational opportunities. 

Call Responsibilities

Graduated call responsibilities are fully implemented in compliance with ACGME requirements. Beginning on Dec 31 of the PGY2 year, residents take in house evening call Monday –Friday and day time in house call Saturday and Sunday – with direct faculty supervision. Overnight call responsibilities with indirect faculty supervision begin on Dec 31 of the PGY3 year. Pager call exists in the PGY3-5 years for specific services. Currently, residents have no call responsibilities during the last six months of the PGY5 year to allow for oral board preparation. Faculty backup exists for all call duties. Beginning in 2013, the time period free of call duties provided to residents to allow for board preparation will shift to the months leading up to the Core Examination which will take place at the conclusion of the PGY4 year. Overall, the call schedule is flexible and is implemented by the chief residents. According to current ACGME resident survey data, this program has no violations of duty hour requirements.

Measurement of Resident Performance

Current objective measures of resident performance in comparison with national performance include the ACR In-Training examination (PGY2 & PGY3), the ABR Physics examination (PGY3), the ABR written clinical examination (PGY4) and the ABR oral board examination (PGY5). Beginning with the class entering 2010, these measures will change to: ACR In-Training examination (PGY2, PGY3, PGY4), and the ABR Core examination (PGY4). Outcomes will be further measured by tracking graduate performance on the ABR Certifying examination, which will take place 15 months after completion of residency. 

Most USC radiology residents go on to do subspecialty fellowships. Our residents have been very successful in being accepted to fellowship positions of their choice at excellent institutions including USC, UCLA, University of Wisconsin, Stanford, UCSF, University of Washington and Yale. Graduates most frequently follow private practice career path but several recent graduates have chosen academic positions at UCSF, Cornell, and University of Pennsylvania.   

M. Victoria Marx, M.D.
Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program Director