Osteopathic (D.O.) Radiology Residency Programs

[radiology-ing_likeaboss]

Thought I would resurrect this thread. I referenced this several times when I was planning my auditions and interviews. Hard to say what will happen once programs start applying for ACGME accreditation but for the time being, this thread could use some updating.

I rotated at Doctor's, Grandview, Ok. State, Franciscan St. James, Huron Valley, and Oakwood Southshore. Interviewed at all those as well as Garden City.

I will try to be frank with my discussion of pros and cons but a caveat to readers- take everything you read on this thread with a grain of salt. What you notice/were impressed by/ find most important is going to be different from anyone else’s observations. Your opinion is your opinion and where you fit in the best is the best place for you. Plus there will always be changes year to year.


DOCTOR's Hospital, Columbus OH

PD- Still Dr. Keleher. Good guy and genuinely interested in the success of his residents. Previous posts made reference to his personality which I would disagree with. He might be a little awkward at times (He is a radiologist) but he's a very nice person and is committed to the profession.

Program- overall I would say is good. Some previous posts suggested low volume but from what I saw, volume was not an issue. The camaraderie among the residents was a big selling point for me. When I interviewed, they mentioned some sort of agreement where they were going to expand their rotation sites. They have a big, newly expanded ER and lot of imaging cases come from that. Also, lot of outpatient imaging studies which the residents read. There is an OhioHealth onsite oncology facility so there’s good pathology in the community. The radiology group is a very big 80 member group that reads for Grant, Riverside and Doctors Hospitals. One thing I didn’t like was that the residents’ reports get “checked off” electronically by the attendings so there didn’t seem to be a lot of that one-on-one “checking out” interaction. The residents would have to go back in to the study and open the final dictation to see what changes were made. If you didn’t take the time to go back and look at the final reports, you’d have no idea what you missed or what was changed, etc.

Didactics were fair, not great. Consisted of video lectures. The residency apparently got in trouble for not having Attendings involved in their didactics but the last I heard, they had taken measures to get in compliance.

No internal moonlighting. There are opportunities to moonlight through the children’s hospital in town in your more senior years of training but I don’t think many of the residents took advantage of this.

Misc- Columbus and surrounding suburbs are awesome! Great places to live and very affordable. Lots to do around the city. Hospital was very nice and nicely updated in an OK area. As stated above, you probably don’t want to live next door but a couple miles out and you’d be fine. Cafeteria food was awful.

Rotated in September. Interviewed 11/16 with pre-interview get-together at Dr. Keleher’s house the evening before. Interview was panel style with several residents and Dr K facing you while you’re seated across from them. No tough questions. Really more conversational. When rank list time comes, if Dr. Keleher likes you, he’ll call you.

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[radiology-ing_likeaboss]

GRANDVIEW – Dayton, OH.

PD- At the time of my audition and interview, Dr. Meyer was PD. Dr. Randy Gazaille has since stepped in as the new PD. I think this was a good move for the residency program and I think he will bring a lot of fresh energy to the program.

Program- Good program. Busy. The residency has multiple hospitals around town where the residents read studies. Historically, the mentality of the PD was to emphasize production and numbers which a) gets you as a resident a ton of exposure and b) prepares you well for a busy PP job as an attending. Pros and cons to this. Some of the residents reported they felt like they didn’t have much time to study and prepare for boards as they would have liked. I don’t know how this is going to play out in the future with the new PD but last word I heard from the residents was that they were pleased with the changes going on in the program. The program is now only taking two new trainees per year down from three in years past. Residents check out with attendings so they have the opportunity to discuss cases and get face-to-face feedback. Definitely a plus.

Can’t comment specifically on didactics. They do theirs all on one day of the week and I missed one of the sessions. The one day I was able to attend, they were preparing for boards so it was more geared toward those who were about to take the exams.

Moonlighting- I believe they had some opportunities to babysit MRI scanners (a licensed physician is required to be present at outpatient imaging centers if contrast is to be given to monitor the patients for allergic reactions). The only issue I saw with this was that the residents might have been too busy with work to have the time to devote to moonlighting. Maybe someone else can comment on this…

Dayton was a decent city. There were some very nice, affordable suburbs only a few minutes away from the hospitals. Didn’t seem like there was a ton to do around town but still very livable. One of the main hospitals, Kettering, was like a freaking country club. Cafeteria there was hands down, the best hospital food I have ever experienced.

Rotated in Sept. Interviewed 11/17 with pre-interview dinner at nice restaurant in Dayton the evening before. Interview was 4 20-30 minute one-on-one with two attendings, the PD, and a couple residents. Conversational, nothing too bad. The feeling I got from my experience here was that if you truly wanted to be there, you needed to tell them.

 

[radiology-ing_likeaboss]

OSUMC Tulsa OK

PD- Jeremy Fullingham, nephew of one of the docs who started the rads group that services the hospital. Dr. Fullingham seems to be a very conservative and religious individual and seems to be more comfortable around like-minded people. In the past, each resident and attending had a vote in candidate selection. Since Dr. Fullingham has stepped into the PD role, I think he is less inclined to weigh the residents’ choices on candidates.

Program- Busy. One of the busier programs and also has a very strong IR department. Large radiology group reads for many, many facilities (mostly small, community hospitals) across the region. Take 3 residents each year. Certain “rotations” might be a little weaker than others (as most of the studies are coming from small, community hospitals) but no shortage of volume. I think with independent study and maybe a few electives, one could make up for any shortcomings. Peds rotations take place in Kansas City so there’s a little bit of travel that can be expected. Built in moonlighting- the group will pay you like 40 bucks an hour to take night call in your third year which is nice because you had to work that shift anyway…so it’s nice to get paid for it. Cons- Not a ton of attending interaction from what I saw but better than Columbus in my opinion. The prelim reports were checked off electronically with suggested changes, then the residents would make the changes and submit the final for approval. Some attendings were better than others at having the residents come check out in person.

Didactics were fair- video lectures mostly. Some of the attendings enjoy teaching and will take time to go through cases. A physicist comes and gives lectures for the R1 and R2s who haven’t taken physics boards yet.

Moonlighting- as stated above. Built in to the program. Some residents do other work on the side as well.

Misc- there had been some very serious financial issues in the past with OSUMC considering it’s an indigent hospital. There was a deal with a large health network in the region that just went through recently that seemed to secure the hospital’s future so this seems to be a resolved (or resolving) issue. The city of Tulsa has some decent areas. Some good nightlife spots downtown and around the city. Good suburbs and very cheap cost of living.

In the past, they used to give you an idea if they “liked you.” Dr. Fullingham flat out stated he’s not doing anything like that anymore so there’s really no way to tell where you stand with them.

Interview invites went out horribly late (like in December). By the time invites went out, most of the candidates I met on the trail were tired and burned out and had already started cancelling interview offers. The actual interview took place on 1/11 like a few days before final rank list was due. Several of the residents seemed to think this could have been handled differently and complained that their input fell on deaf ears.

 

[radiology-ing_likeaboss]

St. JAMES, Olympia Fields, IL.

PD- Dr. Wolczinski. Nice guy who seems committed to the residents/residency. Residents all had good things to say about him.

Program- busy. Lots of volume and very strong IR. Quality of rotations similar to other residencies- good volume but mostly bread and butter community hospital type studies. Although as previously stated, with some out-rotations and independent study, one could probably make up for this. Newer radiology group servicing the hospital with young, energetic attendings eager to teach and get involved with the residents. Would be a good program to train at except for the hospital financial status. St. James and Chicago Heights hospitals, although in a large health network, Franciscan Health, are indigent hospitals and are not profitable. At the time of my rotation/interview, the hospital has recently laid off 200 employees and were cutting back services and combining services at the two hospitals.

Didactics- similar to the other programs I mentioned above. Mostly video with some attendings giving sporadic lectures.

Moonlighting- some decent internal opportunities.

Misc- Hospitals were older but in decent shape and in reasonably decent areas. Close enough to nice suburbs. Chicago is an awesome city and if not for the tenuous financial status of the hospital, I wouldn’t have any major reservations training here.

Interview for me was mid-November and they had several dates to choose from around that time. Interviews were two one-on-one interviews with one attending and the PD. I’m not sure what the PD is looking for in the candidates but he is known for putting you in the hotseat and going through several studies with you, pimping you on anatomy. I had heard this prior to my interview and sure enough, the rumor was true. One of the studies he pulled up for me was a head CT and said, “tell me everything you see.” Another study was a CXR, asked me to read it and give an impression.

 

[radiology-ing_likeaboss]

Huron Valley Sinai/DMC – Detroit metro MI.

PD- Dr. Wolf. Busy guy. Nice guy. Nothing new to report here. I would agree with what previous posters have said. He’s easy to get along with and doesn’t mind if you hang out with him.

Program- Good program. Not as busy as Grandview or OSUMC but decent volume. Residents rotate at other DMC hospitals so very good exposure to neuro, trauma, transplant, peds, IR, etc. DMC has a very large footprint in Michigan and is one of the major players in the healthcare market there. Good thing about this is the exposure. Bad thing about this is you have to drive to different places. Depending on where you live, you might have to drive 30 minutes to get to work. Base hospital at Huron Valley is a nice, community hospital in the suburbs. The residents used to be able to take call from home but now they take it in house. When on call, they can also pick up studies from any of the other 9 DMC hospitals. During the day, residents “check out” one-on-one and seemed to have a good relationship with the attendings. Dr. Savin, a brilliant neuro guy, has a big interest in teaching and is very involved in the residency program.

Didactics- MSU didactics. As stated in previous posts, MSU didactics are the best of all the DO programs and, I suspect, a lot of MD programs as well. All the MSU didactics take place in Tuesdays in Lansing. In addition to this, the residents teleconference in to the Wayne State didactics on Wednesday afternoons. This does take time away from the reading room but the residents seemed to use their time efficiently.

I would like to make a public service announcement at this time: If you’re the type of person who likes lectures or, alternatively, if you skip lectures and read on your own, didactics (whether good or marginal) may not be a factor in your rank list. It is true that you will have to do a lot of studying on your own however, if you HAVE to sit through a lecture (which you will anywhere you go), MSU lectures are probably the ones you want to sit through…. but again, this might not be important to you.

Moonlighting- some internal moonlighting opportunities doing general medical floor admissions. Nothing radiology specific when I rotated/interviewed although Dr. Wolf told me they had a few things in the pipeline.

Interviews were taking place when I was on my rotation (late November) so they counted my rotation time as the “interview.” Other candidates coming through had more “formal” interviews than I did. They were basically conversational, one-on-one 10-15 minute interviews with a few of the attendings. There were several candidates interviewing who hadn’t rotated there but I definitely think it helps getting a spot.

 

[radiology-ing_likeaboss]

OAKWOOD Southshore, Trenton Mi

PD- Dr. Henein. Passionate and ambitious. I think she has a strong desire to continually improve the program and her residents.

Program- Good program. Oakwood is a large, stable hospital network in the area with good resources for the residency- good rotations and nice equipment and facilities. I don’t think volume is an issue as someone previously mentioned. Base hospital in Trenton was very nice and in a safe part of the Detroit metro area. Attendings seem genuinely interested in teaching and also check out one-on-one with the residents. The program takes one candidate that matches as a PGY1 and one candidate that matches outside of the NMS match (pre-“match” contract) as a PGY2 for the following year. The pre-match contracted candidate has to then do their intern year wherever they choose or find a spot. I believe the hospital there has TRI spots there so you could theoretically do all 5 years in one spot if you wanted to.

Didactics- MSU didactics in Lansing.

Moonlighting- good internal moonlighting opportunities such as babysitting MRI scanners. I believe also they have the opportunity to babysit the MRIs and simultaneously read studies (in their more senior years of training) for even more $/hour.

Interviews are panel type with you sitting across from 2 attendings and 2 residents. Standard interview questions (“tell me about yourself,” “3 strengths/weaknesses” type of thing). They had several interview dates although mine was in the first week of November. One thing I didn’t like about this program was the location. The area around Trenton was fine but it was very blue collar with not much to do, not many shops/restaurants, etc. The areas that I liked and where I would consider living were like 45 minutes from there.

Someone mentioned in a previous post that some of the residents left on a bad note. The background story is that, in the past, they weren’t exactly held to a standard so they were able to get away with a lot of shenanigans. The new PD, Dr. Henein is very involved in the program so I think the systemic failures that lead to the bitter attitudes have been corrected.


GARDEN CITY, MI

PD still Volmann. Still passionate and very involved in the program

Program- Decent. Volume is lower but Volmann does a lot to squeeze all the educational value out of what he’s got to work with. The Garden City hospital is a smaller community hospital but the residents do rotate at some of the other, larger hospitals in the area. I didn’t rotate here but I did get the idea they were still looking for strong board scores as someone previously posted.

Moonlighting?

Didactics – MSU

Interviews were panel style with Volmann, another attending, and a resident. Softball questions. No riddles or quizzes in my interview but I can’t speak for anyone else. I don’t think he does the stress interviews much anymore. Interviews for POH and garden city take place on the same day in Lansing. This year it was the first week in November. Hospital is located in a lower income area but easy access to highways nearby and a short drive to good places to live.

 

[a runner]

Thanks you radiologying like a boss for the updates on this thread. Anyone else able to add updated reviews? How are people faring on getting interviews this year? Any other tips for away rotations or scheduling them?

From a powerpoint I saw, it looked like only 5 people who ranked DO programs didn't match in 2014, probably since so many DO's are faring well in the ACGME match now. Anyone from this cycle or last or involved in the process from a program's side have any insight?

 

[rad wannabe]

Any updates??

 

[a runner]

Looks like 29 prematch spots this year and only 21 filled. I wonder how many of those were intentionally not filled (ie. never really available in the first place) vs lack of applicants.

 

[rad wannabe]

Looks like 29 prematch spots this year and only 21 filled. I wonder how many of those were intentionally not filled (ie. never really available in the first place) vs lack of applicants.

Where do you find these numbers? Thanks. I wonder if DOs fair that well in MD match and therefore pull out of DO match; 8 spots unfilled, weird.

 

[a runner]

Turns out 3 of the places that went unfilled are already advertising for applicants to fill those spots in the post match (Botsford - 2 spots, Brookhaven - 2 spots, Oakwood - 2 spots). 2 of the other unfilled spots are at Olympia Fields and Arnot. Not sure where the 3rd is, but it might be Meadowlands.

 

[a runner]

Where do you find these numbers? Thanks. I wonder if DOs fair that well in MD match and therefore pull out of DO match; 8 spots unfilled, weird.

http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/Education/students/match-program/Pages/match-results.aspx

It seems the "unfilled" spots are all really unfilled, meaning the programs wanted to fill those spots but there were a lack of applicants. I think you're right in that more DO's fared well in getting ACGME interviews and so didn't end up ranking any DO programs. I mean even the ACGME programs are going unfilled lately. It'll be interesting to see how many spots go unfilled on the ACGME side this year. My guess is there will be even more if the AOA match is any indication.

 

[preDoGuy24]

Turns out 3 of the places that went unfilled are already advertising for applicants to fill those spots in the post match (Botsford - 2 spots, Brookhaven - 2 spots, Oakwood - 2 spots). 2 of the other unfilled spots are at Olympia Fields and Arnot. Not sure where the 3rd is, but it might be Meadowlands.

St James is the last you are looking for.

 

[preDoGuy24]

St James is the last you are looking for.

Realized you already put Olympia fields, my B.

I only see Arnot, Olympia fields, botsford and Oakwood

 

[a runner]

Realized you already put Olympia fields, my B.

I only see Arnot, Olympia fields, botsford and Oakwood

Whoops, I just realized I was trying to add up the unfilled spots to 9, but there are only 8, heh. All the 8 spots are accounted for:

2-Botsford
2-Brookhaven
2-Oakwood
1-St. James/Olympia Fields
1-Arnot

The ones with 2 open spots all have their positions listed on AOA post match, while the ones with 1 spot don't at this time.

 

[rad wannabe]

http://www.osteopathic.org/inside-aoa/Education/students/match-program/Pages/match-results.aspx

It seems the "unfilled" spots are all really unfilled, meaning the programs wanted to fill those spots but there were a lack of applicants. I think you're right in that more DO's fared well in getting ACGME interviews and so didn't end up ranking any DO programs. I mean even the ACGME programs are going unfilled lately. It'll be interesting to see how many spots go unfilled on the ACGME side this year. My guess is there will be even more if the AOA match is any indication.

Thanks. Last year, all of the students who matched radiology from my school, went ACGME route; I am very curious to see what it is going to look like this year and what the results of the ACGME match will look like.

 

[hopeful3488]

How likely is it to match into a DO PGY-2 radiology program as an intern doing a TRI? Eg. I would be applying for DO radiology during my TRI year, are there even any spots available via this route?

 

[Smarties]

To anyone who happens on this thread, at this point there is no reason to go the DO route for radiology. If you go MD you are almost guaranteed to match somewhere. Truth is that even the worst MD programs are far better than most DO programs.

 

[thatsrad]

To anyone who happens on this thread, at this point there is no reason to go the DO route for radiology. If you go MD you are almost guaranteed to match somewhere. Truth is that even the worst MD programs are far better than most DO programs.

I second this. I'll add that this is true even if you didn't take any USMLE exams and only have COMLEX scores. You will get plenty of interviews at decent to mid level programs (especially in less desirable areas) with just COMLEX scores and match somewhere much better than any DO program, assuming you have at least average range (500-550).

 

[microredhawk]

I second this. I'll add that this is true even if you didn't take any USMLE exams and only have COMLEX scores. You will get plenty of interviews at decent to mid level programs (especially in less desirable areas) with just COMLEX scores and match somewhere much better than any DO program, assuming you have at least average range (500-550).

So, I'm a DO and got a 227 Step 1 and a 591 Level 1.

You're saying that I should be able to match into an MD program without a problem? I'm mainly looking at Midwest for a program. I am nervous about my choice of wanting radiology because of my scores but radiology is what I want. Last thing I want to do is to not match!

 

[ManBroDude]

So, I'm a DO and got a 227 Step 1 and a 591 Level 1.

You're saying that I should be able to match into an MD program without a problem? I'm mainly looking at Midwest for a program. I am nervous about my choice of wanting radiology because of my scores but radiology is what I want. Last thing I want to do is to not match!

DO here with 231/244 591/707, spent a year in a surgery prelim after not matching into a surgical subspecialty and applied broadly this year. I got 12 interviews and matched PGY2 at a university program in my region. You should be fine.

Crush Step 2 / Level 2, and apply broadly. Make sure you have strong letters, I can't stress that enough. In the Midwest I interviewed at U Toledo, NEOMED, Stroger Cook County, and Wheaton (MCW).


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