Musculoskeletal Imaging Rotation

Expectations of Residents in the Musculoskeletal Imaging Rotation

In the Musculoskeletal section at NYU/Hospital for Joint Diseases, we believe that the residents play a critical role in the radiology department of a teaching hospital. We realize that it is our responsibility to provide guidance, mentoring and a certain amount of didactic material. It is also true that there is no better way to learn than by doing.

We cover the Hospital for Joint Diseases, Tisch, (NYU) and Bellevue . These various sites are complementary with respect to the patient populations served, together, provide a comprehensive spectrum of clinical material. We are also developing teleradiology partnerships which primarily involve MRI.

Responsibilities will vary according to the institution and the resident's level of training.

First year residents spend the majority of their time reviewing and dictating plain film examinations from the inpatient floors, clinics, immediate care area and the operating rooms at Hospital for Joint Diseases. During second year, the residents continue to participate in interpretation of plain films, but are also provided with some early exposure to cross-sectional imaging at Hospital for Joint Diseases, Bellevue and Tisch. During the third year, the emphasis is on cross-sectional imaging with the resident spending the majority of his/her rotation on service at Tisch. We believe the fourth year is a time which is best spent reviewing all modalities and seeing as much pathology as possible in preparation for the oral boards.

In addition to participating in the department wide lecture series, we have our own unique weekly conference schedule at HJD targeted to education of the residents and fellows. At present, the schedule is as follows:

Monday AM – MRI Interesting Case Conference
The interesting MRI cases from the prior week will be presented and the findings analyzed by the fellows with discussion by the group to follow.

Tuesday AM– Spine Surgery/Sports Conferences
These conferences are held in conjunction with the spine surgeons and sports service. In spine conference, interesting cases and/or consults are presented, the films reviewed by one of the HJD attending staff and the therapeutic options discussed. The sports conference alternates between this format and didactic presentations. These conferences are optional for the residents.

Wednesday AM – Grand Rounds, Didactic Conference or Journal Club
If the subject of orthopedic grand rounds is considered of interest and value to the radiology residents, they will be required to attend. On weeks where the topic is not applicable or the conference is not held, a didactic conference by one of the radiology attendings or a journal club will be substituted.

Wednesday Noon – A weekly tumor conference is held with representatives from the surgical oncology, pathology and radiology staff. The imaging and microscopic findings are reviewed with surgical correlation when available.

Thursday AM – Plain Radiograph Interesting Case Conference
Interesting plain films from Bellevue and HJD will be presented. The residents will be asked to analyze and discuss the majority of these cases.

Friday AM– Teaching File Conference
Selected cases from the significant hard copy teaching file accrued over the years at HJD will be presented to the residents by a teaching fellow with the attendings adding information as needed.

We feel that the clinical responsibilies and conferences are both critical components of the resident training and, together, provide a learning experience in musculoskeletal radiology which is comparable or superior to that at any other academic center in the country.

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