This is an overview of the curriculum, which supports our comprehensive approach to training. The fellow will be an integral part of ongoing evaluation of the curriculum to allow for improvement and flexibility as needed on a continual basis.

Clinical training

The 12 months of training includes four week blocks of the following rotations:

While the breakdowns are designed to provide a complete experience in nuclear radiology training, the fellow in consultation with the fellowship program director may explore creating overlaps, e.g. additional nuclear cardiology readouts during general nuclear medicine blocks, and focused training in PET-CT or PET-MR only during a part of the PET rotations.

Call frequency

As with the daytime clinical work, the fellowship call schedule follows the recommendations of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and is designed to provide graduated responsibility for the trainee. In general, the fellow will take at least six weeks of overnight home call during the second six months of the fellowship. The radiology residents serve as the first in-house on call contact throughout the year. A nuclear radiology attending is always on call and will serve as support for the fellow, when on call.

Didactic training

Clinical conferences, seminars, small discussion groups, journal clubs, and one-on-one instruction are integral parts of training in this fellowship.

Conferences

As part of this program, the fellow will:

• Attend departmental meetings and conferences
• Develop and make presentations at departmental and interdepartmental conferences
• Attend regional or national conferences, as appropriate

Research training

Involvement in at least one research project is required during the fellowship. The fellow will identify a topic and work with a mentor starting in the first quarter of the fellowship. Ideally, the completed results will be presented at a national or international society meeting, or published in a peer-reviewed journal, or both. At least one well-researched presentation to be made to the department is expected by the end of the fellowship.

Teaching opportunities

The fellow will have the opportunity to teach the diagnostic radiology residents on service, as well as any students from Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine or visiting students from other medical schools through daily clinical work and formal didactic lectures.

Evaluation

To ensure acquisition of adequate knowledge and development of the appropriate technical skills to meet program expectations, the fellow’s performance is monitored carefully during the Nuclear Radiology Fellowship. A formal evaluation by supervising faculty members will be provided on a quarterly basis. In addition, the fellow will regularly evaluate the faculty to confirm that educational needs are being met.