Dr. Petra Lewis is the student advisor for Radiology. Please feel free to email her at any time with questions, or to introduce yourself if you think that you might be interested in radiology as a career. Nancy McNulty, MD can facilitate opportunities for shadowing in radiology, although we encourage you to sign up for one of the enrichment electives if your schedule allows! Feel free to email Dr. McNulty with requests for shadowing.
The AMSER Guide to Applying to Radiology Residency is an excellent resource for students considering radiology as a career.
Elective recommendations for radiology candidates
Diagnostic Radiology
- Medicine or Surgery sub-internship
- Radiology 502
- A subspecialty radiology elective (e.g. Women's Imaging, IR, Neuroradiology, MSK Radiology)
- Other non-radiology elective options (students should make sure they review all imaging on patients):
- Any medicine or surgery subspecialty that includes significant imaging, e.g. GI, pulmonology, urology, orthopedics.
- Pathology
- Forensic pathology
- Outside rotations are not necessary for radiology but should be considered if a specific elective is available or students are particularly interested in a specific program
- Example block schedule
Interventional Radiology
- Surgery sub-internship
- Radiology 502
- A subspecialty radiology elective in interventional radiology
- Other non-radiology elective options (students should make sure they review all imaging on patients):
- Surgery subspecialties e.g. vascular, urology, thoracic
- Anesthesia
- ICU
- Emergency medicine
- Outside rotations are not necessary for radiology but should be considered if a specific elective is available or students are particularly interested in a specific program
- Example block schedule
Career advising meetings
Dr. Lewis meets with all students (live or virtually) who are considering radiology as a career. Students pursuing this path will meet with her periodically up to and through the application process. She reviews personal statements, applications, and rank lists.
Radiology Interest Group career introduction
The Radiology Interest Group has an introductory session in September or October each year to discuss radiology as a career. This open form session enables students to ask questions of faculty and residents.
Meet the Experts Dinner
In April, Dr. Lewis or Dr. McNulty usually hold a dinner at one of their houses with any students considering radiology (geared towards students in clinical clerkships, but any student who is interested is welcome to attend). The recently matched fourth-year students, several radiology residents and one or more of the residency program directors attend and provide useful insight into the process. The matched students and the residents are now the 'experts' and can share a lot of useful information about applications, interviews, and programs in an informal setting. All food and beverages provided! This is always a fun event and very informative.
Apps of Steel Webinar
In July, Dr. Lewis holds a multi-institutional webinar with students and program directors to guide how to optimize your applications and interviews for radiology. This is an interactive session with program directors from many institutions giving their opinions and preferences. The session is a mixture of a didactic presentation and Q&A. The session is recorded annually and made available to any students who request it. This is a very high-yield session for student applicants!
Enrichment elective
There are two enrichment elective opportunities available for Pre-Clinical students, to give them some experience in and exposure to clinical radiology. These are described in more detail here.
Shadowing opportunities
If any students wish to shadow residents or faculty, they can contact Dr. Lewis or Dr. McNulty, who can facilitate this. Students can also contact specific faculty or residents directly if they wish. Shadowing opportunities range from half to whole days, or evening on-call shifts with residents. When requesting shadowing, please indicate if you are interested in specific radiology subspecialties. When shadowing, professional attire, a white coat, and a name badge are required.