Dear Future Radiology residents,
Welcome to the Radiology Residency website! As the chief residents for the 2022-2023 year, we are pleased to introduce you to all that our program has to offer.
It is our firm belief that Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center is home to one of the strongest radiology training programs in the country. Our hospital’s extensive catchment area – which covers not only all of New Hampshire but also reaches into eastern Vermont, northern Massachusetts, and western Maine – accounts for the large case volume and broad case diversity we encounter every day. Furthermore, because we train alongside very few fellows, we have the unique privilege of reading the interesting cases, performing the exciting procedures, and running the service ourselves. Our graduates, who year after year match at the top fellowship programs in the nation, are well prepared to excel throughout fellowship and their careers.
Our program’s stellar on service training is only matched by our thorough classroom curriculum, which covers everything from basic radiology to advanced imaging concepts. In the beginning of their training, our first year residents attend a radiology boot camp specially designed and hosted by Dartmouth radiology attending and internationally renowned radiology educator Dr. Petra Lewis. In preparation for the Core examination, our department sends each third year resident to the AIRP Rad-Path Correlation course, Duke Review course, NERRS Core Case Review course, and Telerad Radiological Physics Review given by Dr. Sensakovic. In addition to the many educational opportunities offered by our program, residents are also encouraged to participate in the myriad extracurricular organizations supported by the department, including the Parents in Radiology group, Women in Radiology group, Resident Mentorship system, and Resident Abstract Workshop.
Among all the reasons to train here, however, none is more convincing than the people who make up our department. We are one big family here. From the barbeque at Storrs Pond in the beginning of the year to the graduation ceremony at the end of the year, as well as the holiday party in December and all the resident Happy Hours in between – we celebrate the friendships we have inside and outside of work whenever we get the chance. Much of this is made possible by Dr. Yen, our program director, a resident advocate if there ever was one. She listens to the voice of the residents and works tirelessly to ensure that voice is heard. It is no wonder why she was awarded the 2019 Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center Outstanding Program Director of the Year award.
So, on behalf of Dr. Yen and all the residents and attendings here at Dartmouth Radiology, we thank you for time and appreciate your consideration. Wherever you go for your training, whether it be here at Dartmouth or elsewhere, we sincerely wish you a long, happy, and fruitful career.
Before we close, though, we wish to leave you with one final thought…The fact that many residents continue their training here as fellows and stay on as attendings is truly a testament to this outstanding program, these superb people, and this charming little corner of quintessential New England.
Best,
Erick and Dallin
IR Chief welcome
Thank you for your interest in our program. I was standing in the cafeteria of my medical school hospital, waiting to get my usual breakfast eggs when I got an email that I instantly knew would change my life forever. It was my interview invite to Dartmouth, my dream program. Dartmouth Hitchcock is an amazing place for an aspiring interventionalist. I did my first procedural biopsy as a PGY-2, something others only get exposure to much later in their training, and 4 years on it has helped mold me into a confident and proficient physician. Our program offers the setting to be as hands on as you would like. There is no competition for procedures and opportunities are plenty.
In order to be a strong interventionalist, you also have to be a strong diagnostician and our training is multi-faceted in that you will be comfortable in interpreting radiographs, ultrasound and cross-sectional imaging. You will also develop fantastic hands-on ultrasound skills, which are critical to our work. On the IR front, we have 2 biplane rooms and 2 single plane rooms in addition to a C-arm room for vascular access procedures (the second biplane room coming up at the end of September 2021). We share these rooms with Neurointervention and Vascular Surgery, both very collegial services we rotate on as part of our training.
Our division handles a vast variety of procedures, ranging from imaging-guided biopsies and drainage, dialysis and vascular access, trauma and hemorrhage angiography to oncologic interventions. The attendings become your de facto mentors, sharing their personal and professional wisdom with you. We also enjoy tremendous support of one another as residents. If I had to do it all over, I would pick Dartmouth a million times. We look forward to reviewing your applications and learning more about you!
Sidak Pannu, MD - IR Chief Resident