Radiology Residency

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Welcome to the OHSU Radiology Residency webpage. We are glad you are here!

Brooke Beckett, M.D.

I am happy that you have chosen, or are considering, a career in Diagnostic or Interventional Radiology. The practice of Radiology is exciting, challenging, and ever-evolving. I feel extremely fortunate to have found such a wonderful life path, and hope you feel the same as you embark on your Radiology journey.

I feel strongly that the Radiology training at OHSU is world-class in every respect. We have a large case volume and wide breadth of pathology, which makes learning at the workstation an exhilarating experience. We also have highly accomplished faculty who are dedicated to providing residents with an outstanding education, both in the reading room and through our robust didactic curriculum.

However, what makes Radiology at OHSU a truly unique experience are the supportive culture, a team-oriented approach, and our focus on trainee wellness. As Program Director, I consider it my primary responsibility to support and advocate for residents through their oftentimes-challenging journey. I am not alone in this endeavor; our entire education team has an open-door policy and a singular goal of empowering residents to be the best they can be, academically and emotionally.

The past year and a half has presented innumerable challenges to everyone in healthcare, not least you, the applicant, who was forced into remote learning, truncated rotations, and abbreviated patient care experiences. Remote interviews last cycle were a learning experience for programs and applicants alike. We feel that, even if you cannot physically visit us here in our beautiful hospital on the hill, or explore the astounding nature of the Pacific Northwest, we can still give you a glimpse of life as a Radiology resident here in our corner of the world.

Best of luck in your application process. We look forward to meeting some of you in the coming year.

-Brooke Beckett, M.D., Diagnostic Radiology Residency Director

Check out our 2022 recruitment video.

Hello Radiology Residency Applicants!

Thank you for your interest in Oregon Health and Science University’s (OHSU’s) Radiology Residency!  We are the current chief residents, and have found our program to be stimulating, diverse and supportive. We would not trade this experience for any other program!

Here is a little background on us: Gail is from Seattle, went to college at the University of Washington, and briefly moved to the east coast for medical school. Julia is from New Jersey, went to college and medical school in Georgia, and came to Oregon for residency, and promptly fell in love with the PNW. Julia will be staying at OHSU for a Body Imaging fellowship and Gail hopes to stay at OHSU for fellowship as well. There are so many things we love about our radiology department, OHSU, and Oregon, and we can't wait to share them with you!

Training in Radiology at OHSU has been a privilege for many reasons, all of which will be difficult to convey in a short paragraph, but we will give it our best shot.

What stands out most about our Radiology residency program are the people.  The faculty, residents, technologists and nurses are what make OHSU a special place to train. Our faculty are world renowned educators who conduct innovative research, all the while remaining modest, approachable and humble. Their focus is clearly on training the next generation of superb radiologists, and that focus is palpable daily as a resident. The teaching that happens at the workstation is unparalleled to what we have seen in our experience! As a result, our residents enjoy coming to work and learning, and there is a strong sense of camaraderie.

Our residents come from all over the country and are the perfect combination of professional, driven, intelligent, open-minded and well-rounded. OHSU as a hospital is an institution that encourages and values equity and diversity, fostering an inclusive environment for everyone including people of color and LGBTQ individuals. OHSU’s commitment to these ideals isn’t just a slogan, it is reinforced at every level of the administration and is mirrored in our department. We are constantly looking for ways to improve and increase inclusion. 

Group photo of Diagnostic Radiology 2022 residents and fellows
Click on the image to view our current residents.

Any problems that arise during residency are addressed quickly and fairly, with faculty advocating for the residents every step of the way. Improvements happen fast, which makes for happy residents, making our lives as chiefs very easy!

If it were possible to come to our hospital in person, you would see that OHSU is nestled in a forest on a hill in Southwest Portland. You can choose to ride a gondola to work every day, and can even park your bike at the bike valet at the bottom! The views from “the hill” are spectacular, and can be enjoyed from the windows in the reading rooms or break room. There is no need to commute to various hospitals, as all rotations are centered on one campus, including the OHSU University Hospital, Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, and the Veterans Administration Hospital.  Residents join daily for noon conference (in person again!), supporting resident unity and education.

I’m sure you’re wondering what living in Portland is like, since working at OHSU has been so incredible! We are very spoiled here with great food and beverages (we like to think America’s food revolution started here). Outdoor activities are abundant, including hiking, biking, rock climbing, water and snow sports all within a 1-hour drive.  Our residents are like family, and we enjoy spending time together outside of work with regular happy hours and trivia!

Put simply, OHSU is the best place to train to become an exceptional radiologist and form relationships that will last a lifetime. We hope to see you here! Please do not hesitate to reach out to us, we will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Happy Interview Season!
Julia and Gail

Diagnostic Radiology Residents having fun outside of work on a very high viewing tower.

See what our residents are up to on Twitter!

@ohsuradchiefs
Image from the GME promotional video

A sense of OHSU

Experience OHSU GME, the wonders of Oregon, and be part of something bigger.

View of Willamette River and bridge across Portland

Living in Portland

Find out what Portland has to offer

Application process

The Program Director or Associate Program Director reviews all complete applications. The Residency Selection Committee, comprised of the PDs, Vice Chair of Education, 3-4 faculty at large, and the chief residents interview selected candidates. Our program participates in the National Resident Matching Program and strictly adheres to its guidelines.

Applications are only accepted through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS). For the 2022 recruitment cycle, the program will begin reviewing applications and MSPEs as soon as they are released. All interviews will be held virtually with dates throughout November and December.

Residents are selected on the basis of academic achievement, the dean's letter and compatibility with the programs goals and intellectual atmosphere. All residents are graduates of an approved school of medicine or osteopathy, have completed one year of postgraduate clinical training, and have completed basic life support training. All residents are required to be licensed to practice medicine in the State of Oregon prior to beginning and throughout their training commitment. OHSU is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. All foreign applicants must be legally able to work in the U.S., or eligible to obtain work authorization.

Supplemental Application and Signaling Statement

We wish to be transparent about out process for the 24-25 ERAS/NRMP Match season (note to future students, this policy may change in future years so check back).  For the new Supplemental Application and Preference Signaling, this year when current OHSU MD students apply to our programs preference is implied, therefore additional signaling is not required.  All others, including past OHSU students and visiting students rotating with DR or IR should signal if we are one of your top 6 places with which you wish to interview.  Please be aware that receipt of a signal does not guarantee an invitation to interview with our program.

For the applicants who are applying to both the DR program and the IR-Integrated program, we consider a signal to either program to be a signal of interest in our institution and OHSU “Radiology” in general.  Thus, we recommend signaling either the DR or the IR-Integrated program depending on which you consider to be your primary interest.  Know that due to the configuration of our selection committees, both programs will know if you signaled the other. For instance, if you signal IR-Integrated and applied to both the IR and DR programs, the DR program will be aware of your signal to IR and hence your interest in BOTH programs.  The converse is also true (if you signal DR, the IR-Integrated program will know you signaled the DR program).

As AAMC/ERAS recommends, we plan to use the signal information for determining invitations to interview, not for ranking purposes. 

For additional information or questions contact Kim Eastman, Radiology Residency Coordinator at 503-494-2570.

OHSU resident curriculum and opportunities

Didactics

Our resident curriculum at OHSU includes a broad mix of didactic and case-based conferences, multidisciplinary meetings, tumor boards, and of course a healthy volume of individual instruction at the workstation.  In the classroom, our faculty strive to engage learners with interactive sessions including use of audience response technology and flipped classroom methodology when feasible.  Each division has constructed an 18-month curriculum that allows for two cycles of all required material prior the ABR Core examination at the conclusion of the third year of training.  This curriculum is supplemented by additional section-specific teaching sessions including case-of-the-day presentations, weekly interesting case sessions, peer-to-peer teaching hours on Mondays and Fridays, and dedicated board review sessions in the spring for residents preparing for the ABR exam.

Diagnostic Radiology Biopsy Skills lab 2019
Dr. Foster teaching Ultrasound biopsy skills lab for Diagnostic Radiology.

Rotations

Our annual block schedule is built around four-week rotations through each division and includes experiences at the Portland VA Medical Center (accessed via the famous quarter-mile sky bridge), the waterfront Center for Health and Healing (accessed via the famous Portland Aerial Tram), and the Dotter Institute for Interventional Radiology.  All trainees attend the one-month AIRP course in Maryland, and additional experiences including international radiology with a partner hospital in Thailand are available. 

Diagnostic Radiology Thai Exchange program group photo

Scholarly activity

We actively encourage residents to participate in scholarly projects.  Our trainees frequently present at national and international conferences, publish widely, and have been successful grant applicants as well as award recipients.  To facilitate scholarship for the academically inclined, we allow residents to apply to the clinical competency committee at the conclusion of their first year for an additional half day per week of protected research time to complete an approved prospective research study.  Costs associated with meeting attendance for presenting authors are reimbursed by the program, with the option to attend additional meetings upon the submission of subsequent manuscripts.  An annual research retreat is held within radiology to highlight the accomplishments and ongoing projects across the department.

Teaching and mentoring

OHSU School of Medicine students rotate monthly through radiology and provide residents with ample teaching opportunities.  Whether through engagement with the radiology student interest group, dedicated medical student didactic conferences, or at the workstation, our residents are an integral part of the teaching team.  In addition to our standard four-week radiology elective, OHSU also offers students considering a career in radiology an opportunity to complete a continuity elective in which they are able to dictate preliminary reports over the course of two months, during which time they are able to get a taste for our specialty offered at very few institutions.  During this time, residents are often able to act as mentors to these students preparing for the upcoming application process.

Diagnostic Radiology Residents and Dr. Bryan Wolf in Washington, DC.

Diversity and inclusion

“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization” – Mahatma Ghandi

On both a departmental and institutional level, one of OHSU’s main priorities is recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. Our current resident cohort is approximately 50% woman, far above the national average of 25%. Our faculty is comprised of approximately 50% women, many of whom enjoy leadership roles within the department and institution. Our trainees and faculty also enjoy a great degree of diversity in geography, culture, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. We welcome all who wish to contribute to our departmental and institutional progress and we strive for a more diverse, inclusive radiology team.

Visit our Diversity and Inclusion committee page.

More information on our Women in Radiology group.

Leadership Skills for Women in Healthcare Conference, Boston, MA, November 2019. 5 female faculty radiologists attended. Left to right is Dr. Alice Fung, Dr. Cristina Fuss, Dr. Elena Korngold, Dr. Chara Rydzak, and Dr. Nadine Mallak.
We have a dedicated Women in Radiology group who's mission is to provide solidarity, camaraderie, and mentorship to female residents, fellows, and faculty within the Department of Radiology through a series of events that enhance professional collaboration, personal support, and broaden knowledge on how to achieve success and overcome barriers.

Wellness

Resident, fellow and faculty wellness is not simply a concept we preach at OHSU, it’s something we live. Wellness is an enormous priority for the program leaders and we work diligently to ensure our residents’ physical and mental health throughout their training career. Our open-door policy is sincere; we want our residents to reach out with any concerns, large or small, personal or professional, physical or emotional, that might be affecting their ability to thrive in our program. At OHSU we are extremely fortunate to have a Resident Faculty Wellness Program that is comprised of mental health professionals who are nationally known for their effective and progressive approach to physician wellness. Confidential, supportive, free counseling is a phone call away and many, many physicians at OHSU use their incredible resources.

In addition to the formal Wellness resources we enjoy in OHSU radiology, we simply like to have fun together. From informal resident get-togethers and resident-PD happy hours, to our annual graduation celebration, we take every opportunity to enjoy time together outside of work. Many life-long friends are made during OHSU radiology residency!

Please take some time to explore the OHSU Wellness webpage and resources.

OHSU integrated interventional radiology residency

The Charles T. Dotter Department of Interventional Radiology was established as an independent multidisciplinary division of the Oregon Health and Sciences University in 1990. The Institute is named for Charles T. Dotter, who invented angioplasty at the then University of Oregon Medical School in 1964. The first intravascular stents, the TIPS procedure, embolization for GI bleeding, and transjugular liver biopsy also originated in Oregon. The institute's mission is to advance image-guided interventions through clinical practice, teaching, and research. The Body Intervention and Neurointerventional sections perform a full range of procedures, have active outpatient and inpatient clinical services,and actively participate in clinical research ranging from industry and NIH sponsored trials to Dotter Institute IDEs. The research laboratory is actively engaged in a broad range of translational studies with dedicated research staff and fellows. Many of the past international research fellows are now leading departments in Asia and Europe.

The OHSU Integrated Interventional Residency is approved for two positions matched per year. The R1-R3 years will be primarily in the Department of Radiology, and the R4-R5 years will be primarily in the Dotter Institute. IR residents participate in the clinical and procedural care of abroad range of patients and conditions, including oncology, peripheral vascular disease, venous disease, aortic disease, biliary disease, genitourinary diseases, neurologic diseases amenable to interventions, trauma, solid organ transplantation, pediatric patients, drainages, and alimentary access. Clinical IR rotations are divided between OHSU and the Portland VA hospital (the Doernbecher Children's Hospital patients are currently treated at OHSU). Residents also rotate on the Neurointerventional service, and on Vascular Surgery. The residents are supported by three advanced practitioners (two for Body and one for Neurointerventional sections). Daily work conferences are supplemented by weekly didactic conferences and numerous multidisciplinary conferences and tumor boards. In addition to the clinical rotations described above, the integrated IR residents will have an ICU rotation. IR residents will train along with the VIR fellows until June 30, 2020. Subsequently, only Integrated and Independent IR positions will be offered.