Mission

The mission of the DGMC diagnostic radiology residency program is to train/develop confident and competent general radiologists for service wherever the nation calls, whether at home or while deployed.

Vision

Our vision is to provide world-class all-encompassing diagnostic radiology training in a setting outside of a major academic institution which will prepare our graduates for both general practice and subspecialty training during and after their military career.

Aims

Aims include, but are not limited to:

1. Foster a culture supporting diversity and inclusion for residents, faculty, patients, and our community
2. Uphold a supportive and engaging learning environment for students, residents, and faculty
3. Promote academic excellence through didactics, viewbox teaching and both peer and faculty mentorship.
4. Leverage available training platforms to provide the full breadth of training and prepare our graduates for success in any environment worldwide.

All residents have protected didactic time from 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. and 12 - 1 p.m. every day, which are filled with service specific lectures, staff lectures, journal club and residency run conferences. The service chiefs for body imaging, cardiac imaging, chest imaging, breast imaging, musculoskeletal imaging, neuroradiology, nuclear radiology, pediatric imaging, ultrasound imaging and interventional radiology are required to oversee a didactic curriculum which rotates at a minimum every two years.

Each service is given a variable amount of didactic time to cover the curriculum, ranging from one lecture every other month to two lectures per month. There are additional curricula for non-interpretive skills, informatics/health care economics, and diversity, inclusion and health equity which are also provided dedicated didactic time. Staff lectures are at the individual radiologist’s discretion, may be additional didactics or case conference.

Journal club is scheduled every other month, with each subspecialty scheduled every other year. We also have a weekly resident run lecture series dedicated to senior residents teaching predefined sections of the Brant & Helms texts to first year residents to further cement baseline knowledge. The didactic schedule is deconflicting with tumor boards to ensure residents are able to participate in those multidisciplinary conferences.

Each year consists of thirteen 4-week blocks, with residents rotating on body imaging, cardiothoracic imaging, musculoskeletal imaging, ultrasound imaging, nuclear medicine, breast imaging, neuroradiology and interventional radiology every year at DGMC.

Residents spend one block at University of California San Francisco, Children’s Hospital Oakland in their PGY 3-5 years, four weeks doing emergency radiology at UC Davis in their PGY-4 year, and one block getting neuroradiology guided procedure experience at UCD in their PGY-5 year.

All residents attend the 4-week ACR Institute of Radiologic Pathology course their PGY-4 year. There is a block in the PGY-3 year dedicated to scholarly activity and cardiac imaging, and two elective blocks afforded in the final year of training. We are a smaller program, with a tight-knit group working in a supportive environment.

Residents are given two elective months in their 4th year. They may choose any non-administrative education activity for these rotations.

Call schedule is crafted to ensure there are no ACGME work hours violations as well as limit resident fatigue.

After hours radiology coverage at DGMC is done via a night float system. Residents in their second through fourth year of training will be assigned seveb-day night float rotations, currently from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 a.m. the next day. Residents will generally have approximately 17-night float rotations throughout residency, usually six or seven in second year and five or six in third and fourth years.

First year residents do 20-25 “buddy call” shifts in the second half of the year, during which their duty hours are altered to 12 - 10 p.m. to get time working with a senior resident after hours, primarily to get experience with the non-clinical functions of after-hours care.

The Graduate Medical Education Department at DGMC runs a military unique curriculum covering topics relevant to trainees future careers in military medicine.

The American Institute for Radiologic Pathology four-week Radiologic Pathology Correlation Course is a mandatory virtual or in-person course. The in-person course takes place in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Residents participate in ultrasound and image-guided intervention simulations. Teaching files are utilized for workstation simulation.

Covered in the non-interpretive skills curriculum.

Residents are expected to complete at least one scholarly activity project during their residency, with the goal of a per-reviewed publication or presentation/exhibit at a national meeting. First authors/presenters are usually funded to attend conferences.

The associate program director for research aims to help residents identify projects and navigate relevant processes. One block in the second year of residency is dedicated to research, with the goal of at least starting both a scholarly activity project and quality improvement project during that time. The onsite Clinical Investigation Facility has multiple resources to assist with research, including statistician support and project management.

Residents are expected to participate in quality improvement and patient safety projects and must complete at least one quality improvement project. Residents are encouraged to enter safety related events in the patient safety reporting system, including near miss/good catch events. Residents are also included on the evaluations of patient safety reports relevant to our department.

Residents engage in professional development throughout residency as they are given progressing levels of responsibility for running the clinical service and as imaging consultants. They also participate in multidisciplinary conferences, such as tumor boards, as well the house officers’ council and graduate medical education committee. They are further supported to participate in any medical group committee and participate in professional development offered in the flight, squadron, group or wing.

• David Grant Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, California
• University of California Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California
• University of California San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, Oakland, California
• Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Vacaville and Vallejo, California

Rotating medical students and interns can spend one month in the DGMC radiology department shadowing residents and faculty. They will be exposed to the full spectrum of radiology, including abdominal imaging, cardiothoracic imaging, interventional radiology, musculoskeletal imaging, neuroradiology, nuclear radiology and ultrasound imaging.

Rotators learn basic radiology principles including appropriate ordering practices, basic imaging interpretation, communication of results, and follow-up recommendations. Rotating medical students are asked to give a 30-minute interesting case presentation in their final week. The typical duty day for medical students begins at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m. Rotators are encouraged to engage in scholarly activities or mentorship during their afternoons. Rotators who are applying to radiology residency should schedule a face-to-face interview with the program director.

Please contact the Program Coordinator to schedule an interview. We will request a copy of your CV and personal statement in advance. Please wear the appropriate uniform of the day for your interview and come with any questions you may have about our program. We view the interview as a way for applicants to get a feel for the personality of the program, particularly if you are unable to visit in person, to better determine if what we offer supports your training needs.

Residents are eligible to take the American Board of Radiology Qualifying (Core) Exam after 36 months of radiology residency training.

The Core exam is offered twice annually, typically in June and November. Most residents take the exam in June of their 3rd year of residency. Beginning with the 2027 graduating class, to become fully board-certified, program graduates must have passed the Core exam and will take the new Diagnostic Radiology Oral Certifying Exam, with the first opportunity in the calendar year following completion of residency.

Residents participate in resident-to-resident teaching during interesting case conference. Second through fourth year residents also teach in a resident driven curriculum delivering fundamental radiology knowledge to first year residents, typically weekly. Residents are further expected to give presentations to their peer focusing on both call and board prep.

Residents work side-by-side with outside rotators giving viewbox teaching.

Our core faculty include members with fellowship training in:

• Body Imaging
• Cardiothoracic Imaging
• Breast/Women Imaging
• Interventional Radiology
• Musculoskeletal Imaging
• Neuroradiology
• Nuclear Radiology
• Pediatric Imaging

Each resident is assigned a faculty mentor to discuss short- and long-term goals, research, and wellness.

We foster an inclusive environment with a tight-knit supportive team. Residents spend a full day offsite early in the year to foster connection and support. We are diligent to give everyone the support they need, ensure there are zero barriers to getting medical/mental health care, and allow time when needed for residents to function as caregivers. Our leave policy is designed to allow for maximum flexibility, ensuring access to parental/medical/caregiver leave without exhausting normal vacation days.