Fellowship Director: Dr. Melanie Theriault
Research Director: Dr. Caroline Reinhold
Residency Program Director: Dr. Jana Taylor
Program Administrator: Cathy Torchia
General Overview
The McGill University Health Center (MUHC) is the tertiary care teaching institution of McGill University that comprises approximately 1,000 total impatient beds and performs approximately 400,000 radiologic examinations per year. As well, the department of Radiology annually performs 6,000 interventional procedures. Nonvascular intervention is an integral part of the Abdominal Imaging fellowship. Fellows are exposed to a high volume of diverse cases and are supervised by a dynamic and dedicated group of abdominal imagers with subspecialty training.
The Department of Radiology of the MUHC offers a 1-year Clinical & Research fellowship in Abdominal Imaging. The fellowship program offers exposure to clinical research in Abdominal imaging with a focus on oncological imaging, radiomics, machine learning and outcomes research. Protected research time (2 days per week) is provided for the candidate to be involved in research projects.
Projects are carried out under the supervision of dedicated abdominal imagers. Publication of research projects, presentation of results at national and international meetings and published in leading peer-reviewed journals is mandatory
Fellows will be expected to prepare at least 3 manuscripts for publication. Given the short duration of the fellowship, it will be mandatory that the fellow has at least one research proposal written prior to joining the Department of Radiology at McGill to ensure that the research can begin in a timely fashion. The fellows are also expected to apply for grant funding prior to arriving in the Department. Support will be provided to the fellow for the grant application process.
Duration: 1 Year
Objectives/Guidelines
At the end of the fellowship, the fellow will be able to:
- Detect any abnormality on ultrasound, CT and MRI, give a pertinent differential diagnosis and propose appropriate management
- Perform ultrasound and CT-guided procedures safely
- To serve as the first line consultant to referring clinicians, including participation at tumor board
- Participate in the teaching of medical students and residents.
- Prepare a minimum of three research–related manuscripts.
Structure
Clinical activities take place at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) and Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) sites of the MUHC. The fellows will be scheduled at both hospitals during phases of their training. The fellowship includes access to advanced, state-of-the art imaging equipment: 3T MRI system, three 1.5T MRI systems, two PET-CT scanners, 6 CT scanners and 15 ultrasound units.
The fellow will have daily assignments in US, CT or MRI. He or she will progressively assume the role of junior-staff and will be supervised by staff radiologists. The fellow will benefit from progressive autonomy during the academic year and will be able to further develop their leadership skills.
The procedures performed include: US guided thyroid and abdominal biopsies, paracentesis, thoracentesis and abscess drainages. Procedures under CT guidance (drainages and biopsies) are also frequently performed.
Fellow’s responsibilities& Schedule
- Learn to function autonomously as a radiology consultant in US, CT and MR interpretation
- Perform and manage non-vascular interventional procedures safely.
- Learn how to manage the workload and prioritize cases on a daily basis
- Teach residents and medical students, organize teaching rounds.
- Participate in at least three scholarly projects, with the goal of publishing in major peer-reviewed journals.
- Learn how to manage on-call workload and identify / manage urgent cases
- Participate in Tumor Board
EXPECTED CASE LOAD (Daily)
- CT rotation: 15
- MR rotation: 10
- US rotation: 20 diagnostic + 4 procedures
Evaluation
- The fellow is evaluated on a daily basis by the attending staff, both with respect to their clinical and research skills.
- A formal written evaluation is completed every 3 months, using the CanMEDS roles scheme. The fellow will meet the fellowship supervisor for direct feedback.