Interventional Radiology Independent Residency
Overview
Ronald Arellano, MD
Program Director,
Interventional Radiology Residency Program
Sara Zhao, MD
Associate Program Director,
Interventional Radiology Residency Program
Interventional radiology is one of the most exciting and fastest growing fields in medicine today. In many cases, interventional procedures are becoming the treatment of choice as they offer a minimally invasive alternative to invasive surgery without the associated morbidity and mortality.
The Division of Interventional Radiology offers a full spectrum of vascular and nonvascular procedures, including diagnostic angiography, percutaneous angioplasty and stenting, embolization therapy, percutaneous tumor ablative therapies, thrombolysis, gastrointestinal/biliary interventions, genitourinary interventions, transplant interventions, dialysis fistula/graft evaluation and treatment, drainage and/or sclerosis, venous ablation and vascular access.
In addition, the Division of Interventional Radiology works closely with the Mass General Cancer Center to provide patients with chemoembolization and radioembolization procedures as well as percutaneous ablative therapies such as radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, ethanol ablation portal vein embolization and irreversible electroporation (IRE)/nanoknife.
The Interventional Radiology Independent Residency is an ACGME-accredited, one-year program. Our philosophy on training is consistent with the ACGME emphasis on graded-responsibility and identification of and concentration on core competencies. The program is committed to encouraging trainees to gain experience through maximum hands-on participation by performing complex procedures, rather than through observation. After completion of the fellowship, individuals will be eligible to sit for dual certification in diagnostic and interventional radiology.
Throughout the United States, all IR fellowships were discontinued on June 30, 2020. These programs will have been replaced with the interventional radiology independent residency.
Clinical Experience
Mass General is the largest Harvard Medical School-affiliated teaching hospital with over 900 beds. It is a world recognized, full service facility covering multiple subspecialties. It is a Level 1 trauma center with a nationally recognized cancer center and active liver, kidney and pancreas transplant surgery programs. With over 47,000 inpatient admissions per year and over 1 million outpatient visits per year, trainees can gain exposure to a wide variety of patients and diagnoses.
Facilities
The interventional facilities include eight fluoroscopy procedure suites, two procedure CT rooms and two procedure ultrasound rooms. Four additional hybrid operating rooms with open and endovascular surgical capabilities are also available. All fluoroscopy procedure suites are equipped with digital subtraction angiography capability and physiologic monitoring.
The Department of Radiology is well staffed with dedicated interventional nursing personnel to provide conscious sedation and procedural care. All nurses in the department are critical care and/or ER-certified, and several are pediatric specialists.
How to Apply
During the COVID-19, residency interviews were conducted virtually and this has been continued since per recommendations from the ACGME and AAMC. We anticipate this to continue into the near future but may be subject to change and applicants will be notified when invited to interview as to the format of the interview day.
Further details regarding the remote interview day will be announced closer to the interview dates. We are committed to providing an optimal remote interviewing experience that allows applicants to gain a sense of the program and culture here at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Applicants selected for an interview will be contacted directly by email to select from one of several dates in January or February.
Consider using this virtual interview guide (link) from the American Association of Medical Colleges as a resource as you prepare for your virtual interview.
Mass General IR Residency Informational Videos:
MGH IR Culture:
MGH IR Work and Clinical: