DR Einstein Philadelphia

Leadership

Welcome from the Program Director - Dr. Ryan J. Smith

Clinical Experience

The Diagnostic Radiology Residency at Einstein Philadelphia is located in a tertiary level 1 trauma center that has one of the busiest ERs in Philadelphia. Residents learn from a dedicated faculty performing imaging and procedures on patients having a wide spectrum of pathologic conditions. Rotations include the full complement of radiology subspecialties and all studies are reviewed and signed out with faculty. In addition, the most advanced equipment and cutting edge imaging techniques such as dual energy spectral CT, contrast-enhanced ultrasound, and artificial intelligence are utilized so graduating residents are well prepared for future advancements in the fast-changing radiology landscape.

The program offers two daily conferences, including Grand Rounds, Interesting Case Conferences, Medical Ethics, and Interdepartmental Conferences that are protected from clinical service obligations. Protected time is also provided after noon conferences for personal time and lunch. Lectures are given by dedicated nationally renowned faculty that have been invited to lecture and speak at local, regional, and national conferences as well as other academic institutions. 

More information on the clinical experience

Sample Monthly Conference Schedule

Check out sample videos of our lectures

Frequently Asked Questions

Why choose Einstein?

Einstein Healthcare Network combines a wealth of pathologic material (from the almost 300,000 cases available to us each year), a dedicated faculty of teachers (all whom are members of the teaching faculty and all of whom participate in the education of the radiology resident), a great opportunity to do hands-on learning (there are no fellows with whom to compete for cases) and a chance to do exciting research with nationally known radiologists. This is a great combination.

What are your requirements for being accepted into the program?

We consider each application on an individual basis. We review every application we receive. Therefore, there are no hard-and-fast “cut-off” scores.

All applications must come through ERAS.

Applicants should have three letters of recommendation in addition to the Dean’s letter. They should be the best letters you can possibly obtain and there is no requirement that any of them be from a radiologist or a chairperson.

All positions in this Program are filled through the National Residency Matching Program.

The Department does sponsor visas.

Will I get "hands-on" experience at Einstein?

Absolutely. There are no fellows at Einstein Healthcare Network with whom the radiology resident must contend for cases. Consequently, you don’t spend four years waiting to become a fellow; you do the same things as a resident at Einstein that you will do as a fellow elsewhere. In fact, many of our resident graduates report that they were able to get more hands-on experience here as a resident than they do at some fellowship programs.

The absence of fellows even more important as radiology residency programs re-structure their fourth year to allow their residents more time for subspecialization. In those programs with many subspecialty areas already burdened with junior residents and fellows, this will put an even greater strain on resources. In our Program, senior residents will not be competing with fellows for the most difficult and most interesting cases.

When you graduate from this program, you should be able to do whatever is asked of you in radiology, and do it well.

Will I have an opportunity to teach in this Program?

We believe strongly that one of the best ways to learn is to teach. Our residents are encouraged to teach others at all levels of their training and teaching becomes ingrained in our residents. Firstly, residents help teach other residents. In the collegial atmosphere of this program, fourth-year residents help teach third-year residents who help teach second-year residents and so on. All residents have an opportunity to teach junior and senior medical students on rotation either in the Medical Center or with us in the department. All residents have the opportunity to teach student technologists in our own two-year, certificate-based School of Radiologic Technology. Einstein Healthcare Network residents graduate with the desire, knowledge and the skills to be the best teachers.

What role do teaching conferences play in the Program?

Teaching conferences play a key role in this Program. Residents are not only teachers, they are students as well. There are conferences every day at least twice a day. In this Program, there is no service obligation that takes precedence over a resident’s attendance at conference and every resident is expected to and does attend every conference. All conferences are monitored by a faculty radiologist. There are no conferences here that are monitored only by a resident. Some of the faculty-monitored conferences are produced and run by a designated resident so that residents in this Program get the experience of supervising an imaging conference effectively.

Do people in the Program get along with each other?

Well, actually the answer is yes. One of the comments we hear back from prospective residents most often is how “happy” the residents here at Einstein Healthcare Network seem to them. Their perception is reality. Truthfully, we do have a group of residents who get along well with each other and who get along well with the faculty. We do not believe in humiliating or embarrassing individuals to motivate them. We believe that everyone, at this level of training, is committed to becoming the best radiologist s/he can be. Our job is to help bring that out. So the teaching here is supportive and facilitative and the interactions are hopefully on an adult level. The residents respond positively to this and learning here takes place in an enjoyable environment. But you be the judge. After your interview, we invite you to contact any of our residents to discuss the Program and you have an open invitation to return, if that is geographically feasible, at another time for a day, a half-day or even a few hours to judge the atmosphere here for yourself.

What are the benefits of the combined Preliminary Year Radiology Five-Year Program?

If you are a 4th-year medical student in an ACGME-approved medical school, you can apply to our combined five-year program that incorporates a first year of training in our preliminary residency program. The preliminary program is designed to prepare you for the practice of radiology. Besides containing ample time for electives, you will be able to spend time in the specialties you will need most as a radiologist. If you qualify for this option, you can:

Eliminate the hassle of searching for, and the possibility of not matching with, a first year of clinical training.

File just one application with us for all five years of training.

Do away with the possibility of moving from city to city before your residency begins.

Have the opportunity to attend radiology conferences and other special radiology events during your clinical year of training.

Of course, if you desire, you may still apply for a separate year of clinical training in the program of your choice followed by four years of radiology training here. The choice is yours.

What is the daily schedule like?

In general, the day starts with morning conference from 8 to 9 am. After conference, residents report to their rotation and commence their clinical duties. Residents have autonomy to read cases on their own with attendings always available to answer questions and to sign out cases throughout the morning. Residents are excused to attend noon conference, which runs until 1 pm. Residents then have a lunch break from 1 to 1:30 pm, which is probably the most unique part of our program. It means so much more then grabbing a sandwich and a drink between shifts. It allows our residents to fully concentrate on the material during lecture and not have to worry about spilling their drink or getting indigestion. More importantly, it gives our residents the opportunity to bond and to get to know each other really well. The residents can eat together in our learning center and if the weather cooperates, there is a nice courtyard outside with tables and chairs. At 1:30 pm the residents return to their rotations and once again interpret studies. We are all expected to finish our assigned work before leaving.

What about night call?

Yes, there is night call. At Einstein Healthcare Network, we believe night call can be a learning experience. First-year radiology residents take no overnight, in-house call. They do participate in “buddy-call” with another resident. Second-year residents begin taking in-house call. We have a night-float system. We will make changes in the call schedule to allow third-year residents extended time without call prior to the new Core Examination.The Program complies with all ACGME standards for duty hours.

What is the call schedule like?

Residents do not take any independent in house call during their first year. First year residents start working on weekends in September, with a more senior resident and attendings. In January, first year residents start taking “buddy call” where they are paired up with the short call resident to learn more about the on call experience and to prepare for second year.

NIGHTFLOAT: We have a nightfloat system and therefore there are no 24 hour shifts in our program. The majority of nighfloat is done during your second year. Each rotation, two residents are assigned to nightfloat.

SHORT CALL: Monday to Friday, one resident works from 5 to 9 pm, a “short call” shift.

SWING SHIFT: Monday to Friday, a senior resident works from 4 to 10 pm, serving as a backup for the short call resident and reading higher level imaging, including MRIs.

WEEKENDS: Two residents work during the day on weekends. One resident works from 9 am to 9 pm and predominantly reads cross sectional imaging and ultrasound. The other resident works from 10 am to 7 pm and predominantly reads plain films. The two residents are working with 3 attendings.

ATTENDINGS/NIGHTHAWK: We want our residents to be able to take call independently but to always have back up support. There is an attending in house, covering a different hospital than the resident until 10 pm. Certain studies must always be reviewed by an attending (potential ectopic, stroke alert) but the attending is always available to answer questions. After 10 pm we employ a Nighthawk Service to serve as the backup for the residents.

Are there off-campus rotations?

Residents go to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) for a total of 3 months for experience in Pediatric Radiology. Our senior residents spend time during their fourth year at Elkins Park Hospital, which is part of the Einstein Healthcare Network, in a more independent role at a smaller, community hospital. Our residents also attend the AIRP during their third year.

Do I have to travel to other hospitals to cover them while on-call?

The only rotations away from Einstein are your 3 Pediatric Radiology rotations which take place at either St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children (SCHC) or Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), both in Philadelphia. During your rotations at SCHC and CHOP, you will be incorporated into the call schedule there. You will not be on the call schedule at Einstein Medical Center. The remainder of the call is done exclusively here at the Medical Center.

What is the format for resident sign-outs?

Each morning, starting at 7:30 am the overnight resident signs out their CTs and Ultrasounds with an Abdominal Imaging attending and a Neuroradiologist. These subspecialized signouts are some of the most educational experiences in our program.

Are there moonlighting opportunities?

Residents can moonlight during residency, with permission from the Program Director. Moonlighting hours count towards ACGME duty hours and are closely monitored.

Are there research opportunities?

We take research and scholarly activity very seriously. Every year we have had exhibits accepted at major conferences like the RSNA and ARRS (many of which won awards), numerous articles published in major journals, and had faculty speak at several local and national meetings. When you participate in scholarly activity as a resident, you will have ample opportunity, resources, and abundant case material with which to work. Our faculty will be eager to help you in the design and implementation of your clinical research study.

Can residents attend regional or national conferences?

Residents can attend up to two educational conferences per year. If a resident has a role in the conference, ie an exhibit, giving a lecture, participating in a competition, on a committee, the hospital provides a stipend that ranges from $750 - $1500.

The chief residents are fully subsidized to attend the American Alliance of Academic Chief Residents in Radiology (A3CR2) meeting at the AUR each year.

What is the resident-to-attending ratio?

We have a better than 1:1 ratio of attendings to residents in our department. Our faculty is here, because they truly enjoy teaching and must truly love Einstein, as many of our staff trained here. Many of them hold certificates of added qualification in their subspecialty area and all of them, I know, are strongly committed to resident education and to providing quality patient care. All of the faculty are accessible to our residents all of the time, so the faculty-resident interactions are frequent and friendly.

Are there fellows at Einstein?

No. The fact that we do not have any fellows means that our residents have every opportunity to be first person to look at a case from the ER, work side-by-side with our women’s imagers in reviewing, planning, and performing biopsies, and getting your hands on catheters in any number of interventional procedures. That experience is invaluable and cannot be understated. Our fourth year residents function like fellows, reading complicated MRIs and angios, performing arthrograms and biopsies and presenting at tumor boards and interdisciplinary conferences. Our fourth year residents also take on an important role in teaching junior residents and medical students, helping them to become well rounded Radiologists and well prepared for fellowship and beyond.

What about getting a fellowship after completing Einstein's radiology residency?

Obtaining a outstanding fellowship as a graduate of this Program has never been a problem. Our residents have been 100 percent successful in obtaining excellent fellowship positions in programs of their choices including, in the recent past, at Massachusetts General Hospital, Northwestern, the University of California at San Diego, Stanford University, Wake Forest University, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, New York University Hospital, Brigham and Women’s, Memorial Sloane-Kettering, the University of Maryland, Montefiore in New York, Baylor University, the University of Iowa, Emory University, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, University of California-Los Angeles, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.

What about job opportunities in radiology?

The job market remains strong. The key to obtaining a good job is good training. At Einstein Healthcare Network, you are trained to do everything and to do it accurately, efficiently and productively. There will always be a premium on radiologists like that in the workforce.

Is Philadelphia a good place to do a radiology residency?

Philadelphia is a wonderful place to do a radiology residency. This is a city with major medical centers, numerous residency programs and a very active radiologic community. Under the auspices of the Philadelphia Roentgen Ray Society, outstanding, nationally known speakers are brought to the city each month during the academic year. There are, in addition, numerous clubs and smaller societies that meet on a monthly basis to share the most interesting cases seen in the City in various subspecialties such as interventional radiology and musculoskeletal radiology. The Pennsylvania Radiologic Society is also very active in resident affairs and sponsors an annual socioeconomic workshop for residents to inform them of practice issues.

Philadelphia has an active and vibrant center city, some of the nation’s finest museums, students from more than a dozen nearby colleges and universities, fabulous restaurants and clubs, great theater, all professional sports and affordable suburbs within 20 minutes of the hospital. Whether you are single or married, Philadelphia or its suburbs has something you will enjoy.

What is the interview process?

Selected applicants are invited to visit Einstein Healthcare Network for a personal interview by e-mail. We make every effort for those who are applying to the combined Preliminary/Radiology Program from out of the area to combine the interviews for both the Preliminary Program and the Radiology Residency on the same day, but this is not always possible.

Interview invitations are usually not offered until late October or November. Interview invitations are then offered on a rolling basis through e-mail. Based on past experience, the interview slots fill very quickly, sometimes within a matter of hours. If you receive an invitation, please follow the instructions carefully about setting up an appointment as quickly as you can.

We do maintain a “wait list” of invited interview applicants. We do that because it offers interested applicants the best opportunity to see our Program over the course of an interview season. It has been our experience that most applicants on our wait list will receive an invitation to interview.

We do not routinely send out interview rejection notices as all interview invitations are on a rolling basis. Once the interview process is completed, and it is time to submit the rank-order list for the Match, we do not – as a matter of routine – send out “letters of interest” in an effort to influence applicants’ rank order lists. If you have a question about the status of your application relative to an interview invitation, contact us at radiology@einstein.edu.

How do I match with Einstein's residency program?

To qualified individuals, Einstein Healthcare Network offers several possibilities through the Match.

Fourth-year medical students who qualify may choose to incorporate their first year of training in the Medical Center’s Transitional Residency Program with their four years of training in our Diagnostic Radiology Residency (PGY-1 [T1] track).

Or, if you choose, you may seek whatever first year of training is best for you and apply for admission to our Diagnostic Radiology Program following that year of training (PGY-2 [T2] track). The match instructions for each type of program are indicated below:

Preliminary Residency linked to Diagnostic Radiology Residency: Combined Five-Year Program (PGY-1 [T1] track)

If you had an interview with both the Radiology Residency Program and the Preliminary Residency Program (either on the same day or on different days), and if you want to match into the five-year combined program, then Rank our Radiology S Program (1631420A0) on your primary list and the Preliminary Program (1631140P2) first on your supplemental list. You may have to create a separate supplemental list used only for our radiology program in order to use the 1631140P2 code as this code cannot be attached to any other radiology program. Note that the number for the linked program is 1631140P2 and not 1631999P0.

Radiology Program Alone: (PGY-2 [T2] track)

If you wish, you may rank the Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program (1631420A0) alone.

If you have any questions about the match, please call us at 215-456-7378 and ask for Dr. Smith, or e-mail us at radiology@einstein.edu.