Radiology

Radiology

This online repository houses relevant resources and contact information for students seeking career advice. We encourage you to review the career-related materials provided (e.g. Specialty Webinar, Interview Questions, Research, etc.) as you seek support in your journey through medical school.

If you have further questions that are not addressed on this page, please feel free to contact a Specialty Faculty Mentor for further guidance.

Match Preparation and Charting Outcomes Heading link

You are more than your Step Scores! Use the NRMP page to look at the qualifications of applicants who have successfully applied to your specialty.

Does Step 2 CK score affect interview offer?

  • If the Step 1 is high, then not really
  • If Step 1 is on lower side, a high Step 2 CK can help offset lower Step 1

Is Step 2 CK score required to rank?

  • No, but will help to have it before NRMP Rank Deadline
  • National average Step 2 for matched applicant in Radiology: 249

Should applicants do away rotations?

Yes: Focus away rotations at programs or locations where you would like to end up. Being a familiar face to the program can be helpful when programs are reviewing applicants.

Treat these away rotations as audition interviews and be sure to present your best qualities.

Information for junior (M1/M2) students who want to know more about your field:

Radiology, like most specialties in medicine, is a mix of science and art.

  • Radiologists are like detectives, trying to glean diagnostic information about patients based on an intimate knowledge about anatomy and pathology through various imaging and interventional modalities.
  • Currently 2 pathways: Diagnostic Radiology and Interventional Radiology
    • DR: Uses medical imaging to diagnose and treat patients. Play an essential role for almost all patients who are admitted into the hospital. You are the “Doctor’s doctor” helping services diagnosis and manage their patients.
    • IR: Perform minimally invasive procedures using image guidance. Great mix of hands on procedures and patient interactions.
    • DR: 5 year program with 1 intern year followed by 4 years of radiology
    • IR: 6 year program with 1 intern year followed by 3 years of DR and 2 years of IR.
    • Most diagnostic radiology residents complete an additional 1-2 year subspecialty fellowship
    • Junior students are encouraged to participate in shadowing programs, radiology research activities, and student run DR/IR radiology interest group, and Diversity in Radiology group.
    • UIH Radiology elective courses (information on UI COM elective catalog website): 2 week M3 ELEC433 Fundamentals of Radiology
    • 4 week M4 ELEC670 Radiology UIH

Shadowing Opportunities:

Radiology department at UIH is accepting students to shadow in these radiology sections: Interventional Radiology, General radiology, Body CT, Neuroradiology, Ultrasound. Please proceed to sign up on the individual sheet (one student per day in each section)

When:

  • Wednesday and Thursday, 7:45 am to 12:00 pm – IR
  • Wednesday and Thursday, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm – all other sections

Where:

  1. University of Illinois Hospital
    1740 W. Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60612
    General Radiology: room 2511/2512
    Fluoroscopy: room 2511
    Body CT: room 2429
    Ultrasound: room 2705
    Interventional Radiology: IR control area, room 2471-2479Specific instruction for IR: On your assigned day, please arrive to the IR suite by 7:45 am and introduce yourself to the attending/trainees in the work room. They will help you find scrubs and a lead apron so you can observe cases. Try to discuss any case you are observing with the fellow/resident/attending prior to the start so you can get the most out of your experience. Feel free to ask questions!
  2. UI Health Outpatient Care Center
    1801W. Taylor St, Chicago, IL 60612
    Neuro MRI: Suite 1A room 1175
    If you need assistance, drop into the Radiology check-in area (Room 2600), and they will be able to direct you.

Requirements:

  • Professional attire, white coat, and university/hospital ID at all times.
  • Please introduce yourself to the team in the reading room/work area
  • After your shadowing day, please copy this link to your browser and fill out the following survey to help improve the program:
    https://uic.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_86RNOwRgsJ98zYh

Contact:

For questions regarding IR shadowing: Dr. Ketan Shah (kyshah@uic.edu).
For questions regarding all other shadowing: Dr. Karen Xie (karenlin@uic.edu)

Do you have other resources? (ie. Mentorship Programs, Bootcamps)

  • Diagnostic Radiology Interest Group run by radiology faculty Dr. Karen Xie and UIC medical students
  • Diversity in Radiology Committee run by radiology faculty Dr. Karen Xie and UIC medical students
  • Interventional Radiology Interest Group run by Dr. James Bui and UIC medical students
  • Midwest Interventional Radiology Medical Student Symposium (https://www.mirmss.org/)

Research

  • Do you have a coordinator/faculty who would serve as a contact person for medical student research inquiries?
    Ron C. Gaba, MD, MS, FSIR (rgaba@uic.edu)

Recommendation

  • Number of letters recommended – Minimum 3, Maximum 4
  • Chair’s letter required?
    No, but helpful if possible. Definitely would recommend at least 1 letter from the specialty you are applying to, but is also important to ask for letters from someone you have worked closely with. Having a personalized letter goes farther than a generic letter
  • Number of letters from away rotations/institutions?
    Those letters will be used to show not only your interest in radiology, but also how well you work at institutions other than your home institution.  Hopefully you will be working closely with a specific faculty during your away rotation and can ask for a meaningful letter at the end
  • Do you require the MSPE before offering interviews?
    Not absolutely necessary, but helpful. Some institutions will not send out interview invitations until after the MSPE letters have been released.

Personal Statements

  • Unique story about yourself, exposure to your desired specialty, qualities you can bring to residency, why radiology
  • Exposure to radiology. What drives the student. What/how adversities needed to be overcome -this indicates resilience
  • Please proof-read your personal statement

Application Timing

  • When do programs in your specialty generally begin reviewing applications?
    Apply early. Apply the 1st day applications open. Depending on applicant’s competitiveness, would apply to at least 25-30 programs. It’s better to cancel interviews than not get enough Okay to do preliminary year in Medicine, Surgery, or Transitional year
  • When do programs in your specialty begin offering interviews?
    September – October
  • When does your program  generally offer interviews?
    November, December, January
  • Do you require the MSPE before offering interviews?
    Not a must, but definitely helpful

Interview Advice

  • Be yourself
  • Dress for success
  • Practice answering interview questions before the interview
  • Discuss your passions and let it show

Post-Interview Advice

  • ‘Thank You’ emails are a good non-intrusive method to show your appreciation
  • Try to tie in a specific conversation piece from the interview, or add your picture (after a while, it is hard to remember candidates)
  • Putting down a program is #1 in the rank list is nice but not necessary
  • Be truthful, just know that this can sometimes be hard to believe

For further guidance, contact our specialty faculty liaison:

Ed Michals, MD
Diagnostic Radiology
emichals@uic.edu

Matt Niemeyer, MD
mniemeye@uic.edu

Should applicants do away rotations?

Away rotations are increasingly common. If a student has a specific program or region they are interested in, it certainly increases the students profile during recruiting if they perform well and are a good “fit” for the programs culture. It can also be a good source for letters of recommendations if needed.

Research

Do you encourage research?
 Yes. It is a positive to see research in an applicant’s CV. It indicates they have “academic reserve and motivation” beyond that demonstrated in their medical school performance.

Require it? No

Recommendation

  • Number of letters recommended – 3 required
  • Chair’s letter required?
    No, however a chair or section chiefs letter tends to carry more weight if not obviously “canned”
  • Number of letters from within specialty?
    1 is preferred but expect at least 1 outside of specialty
  • Number of letters from away rotations/institutions?
    Not required
  • Do you require the MSPE before offering interviews?
    No

The letters of recommendation are best if the author truly knows the applicant and can add insight beyond their CV.

Personal Statements

One page only. I’ve never read a personal statement that on its own ranked the applicant significantly higher but I have read some that prevented our program from offering an interview.

Application Timing

  • When do programs in your specialty generally begin reviewing applications?
    September
  • When do programs in your specialty begin offering interviews?
    Early October, after MSPE release
  • When does your program  generally offer interviews?
    October-December
  • Do you require the MSPE before offering interviews?
    No

Applying early is better.

Interview Advice

  • Nothing specific to specialty. Number of interviews depends on strength of applicant and location/region of interest.
  • The coasts are most competitive, Midwest less so.

Post-Interview Advice

Expect contact, usually email thanking program for the interview experience and expressing interest in program if true. Do not expect applicant to indicate where they are ranking us.

For further guidance, contact our specialty faculty liaison:

Terry Brady, MD, FA
uicompcareer@uic.edu

Should applicants do away rotations?

International students should have rotations in the United States. We encourage rotation in Family Medicine.

Research in medical school is encouraged but not required. Poster presentations and publications are also encouraged.

Letters of Recommendation

Number of letters recommended – 3

Chair’s letter/SLOE/special letter required? No. Chairman letter not required

Number of letters from within specialty? At least 1

Number of letters from away rotations/institutions? Variable

Do you require the MSPE before offering interviews? No

Personal Statements

We recommend your Personal statement to include

  1. Your reason for choosing Family Medicine as a specialty.
  2. Your engagement in community service.
  3. What are you looking for in a program?

Application Timing

When do programs in your specialty generally begin reviewing applications? September

When do programs in your specialty begin offering interviews? September before MSPE release

When does your program generally offer interviews? September

Do you require the MSPE before offering interviews? No

Interview Advice

You should research the program before the interview. During the interview you should have time to speak with current residents.  Always have pertinent questions to ask. Have ideas of what a future practice situation may be like.

Post-Interview Advice

A thank you note is always appreciated if the student honestly liked the program.

For further guidance, contact our specialty faculty liaison:

Joseph Ross, MD
joeross@uic.edu

Helpful Resources Heading link

  1. The NRMP publishes a survey of Applicants each year. This report presents the results of selected items from the 2022 NRMP Applicant Survey. The report documents factors that applicants weigh in selecting programs (1) at which to interview and (2) to rank in the Main Residency Match. It can be found HERE.
  2. The NRMP Publishes a survey of Residency Program Directors. This report examines the factors program directors use to select applicants to interview and rank. Data are reported for 22 specialties and the transitional year in the Main Residency Match. It can be found HERE.
  3. Looking for residency programs?  The AAMC interactive, Careers in Medicine Website is where you should be! LINK
  4. Having difficulty deciphering this information?  Contact your Student Affairs Career Advisor on your campus!!!

Below you will find resources to help you get started when applying for residency.