Interventional Radiology Residency Training at Yale

Yale-New Haven Hospital and the Radiology and Biomedical Imaging Department offer extensive and diverse training in Vascular and Interventional Radiology. Training is conducted at Yale-New Haven Hospital, at both the main campus and the Saint Raphael campus, and at the West Haven Veterans Administration Hospital. Every year over 17,000 diagnostic and therapeutic procedures are performed with approximately 11,000 patient encounters within the IR section. Each senior resident typically logs between 1500-2000 cases during their dedicated IR years.

Training includes all areas of diagnostic angiography outside of the coronary distribution. Non-invasive vascular imaging training includes CTA, US, and MRA. Vascular interventional techniques among others include: arterial and venous revascularizations (balloon angioplasty, thrombolysis, and stenting), transcatheter embolotherapy, percutaneous inferior vena cava filter placement and advanced retrieval. Additional vascular experiences includes the management of stenotic and occluded hemodialysis accesses, percutaneous creation of intrahepatic portosystemic shunts (TIPS), interventional oncology, and placement of a variety of tunneled and implantable venous access devices.

Nonvascular procedures include percutaneous management of abscesses, gastrostomies, thermal ablation of tumors, and interventions in the biliary and urinary systems, such as external drainage, internal stenting, dilatation, and lithotripsy. The section also has two endoscopes for percutaneous diagnosis and intervention of the principally in the biliary system.

The Yale IR section has historically been a leader in cutting edge research, global health, and robust clinical training. There are many specialty clinics, such as the Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia clinic, that offer a unique educational experience to trainees. As Yale IR was the first program to establish a longstanding Global Outreach program in Tanzania, trainees have the opportunity to participate in this experience and establish future programs focused on increasing access to interventional radiology around the world.

Yale IR residency received continued accreditation from the ACGME in 2019. We offer three IR Internship-Residency positions per year. We are accepting IR Intern-Residency applications through ERAS/NRMP on a yearly basis. Residents who complete this program are prepared for academic or private practice interventional radiology and can apply for dual diagnostic radiology/interventional radiology certification.

Eighteen integrated residents (PGY 1-6) are active in the program at any time as the program accepts three applicants per year through the National Residency Matching Program. Additional ESIR and independent IR positions are available.

Integrated IR Residency

Intern Year:

• Linked internship consisting of 6 months medicine (Cardiology, Emergency Medicine, General Medicine, Hepatology, Infectious Disease, MICU, Oncology) and 6 months of surgery (Surgical Oncology, 2 months of Vascular Surgery, and General Surgery/Acute Care, Colorectal or Bariatric Surgery), including one month of Interventional Radiology.
  

IR1-IR3:

• Fully integrated into Yale Diagnostic Radiology Residency with 6-8 weeks of Interventional Radiology per year.
  

IR4-IR5:

• Dedicated IR Years with four-week rotation in each of the following: MICU, Mammography, and night float. Elective rotations including Neuro-IR, Peds IR, Global Outreach and research time are encouraged.

Weekly IR Conference Schedule

Every morning, except Wednesday, there are working/teaching rounds from 7am-8am. This allows trainees that are not currently on the IR service to participate as their clinical schedule allows. Residents on service are also expected to attend and present at the weekly chest tumor conference, liver tumor board, and a monthly interdisciplinary portal hypertension conference.

On Wednesdays, morning rounds conclude at 7:30am which are followed by a dedicated IR lecture series from 7:30 to 9:00am. Aside from lectures presented by Yale faculty, we have regular morbidity and mortality conferences, journal clubs, and Grand Rounds with distinguished speakers from around the world.

Our section chief emails weekly multidisciplinary webinars that both on and off service residents are encouraged to attend, which allows IR1-IR3s to develop foundational knowledge prior to beginning their dedicated IR years. These include biweekly “Virtual Grand Rounds in PJs,” that cover a variety of topics. There is also an extensive diagnostic radiology lecture series with 9 lectures per week.

The program values comprehensive patient care responsibilities. The section has a consult service, with active clinic and admitting privileges. Trainees cover these services in conjunction with an attending and an advanced nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant. Approximately 100 patients per year are admitted to this service and there are over 750 clinic visits each year. Residents graduating from the program are prepared for a career in clinical interventional radiology due to this focused and integrated patient care experience. Yale IR has a variety of specialty clinics trainees participate in, such as interventional oncology, pediatric interventional radiology, women’s health, men’s health, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia clinic, and the newly founded vascular and lymphatic interventions clinc.

Yale IR offers a unique research environment that encompasses the full gamut of basic, translational and clinical science, including clinical trials. Our NIH-funded science focuses on topics such as drug delivery, novel molecular targeted imaging and therapeutics, artificial intelligence and advanced intra-procedural navigation systems. We collaborate with partners in immunobiology, biomedical engineering and biophysics and have the most advanced experimental imaging equipment at our disposal, including a fully equipped state-of-the art Philips Allura Clarity C-Arm Interventional Suite. Our group has a track record of fostering careers of excellent IR trainees and junior faculty. Previous researchers and physician-scientists in IR won numerous national and international research prizes, such as the RSNA Trainee Prize, SIR Constantine Cope award, ECR Invest in Youth award and the prestigious PEO Foundation Award for Excellent Women in Science. Additional information can be found at the Yale Interventional Oncology Research Lab website.

Yale IR is a leader in global IR, bringing minimally invasive treatment options to underserved populations worldwide. In collaboration with Emory University and Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Yale IR has established the first accredited IR training program in sub-Saharan Africa. Before initiation of this training program there was not a single interventional radiologist in Tanzania, an East African nation with a population of nearly 60 million people. This means that many essential and life-saving procedures could not be performed. Yale IR has coordinated deployment of 14 teams to Tanzania for two-week teaching trips since 2018, overseeing more than 300 IR procedures ranging from simple biopsies to complex vascular procedures. Yale IR recognizes the important role minimally invasive treatments will play in improving medical care in Africa and is committed to making these advances available to as many people as possible. This work is supported by several institutional and national grants, including the RSNA Research & Education Foundation Derek Harwood-Nash International Scholar Grant. Yale IR trainees have the opportunity to participate and travel toTanzania for two-week electives during their training. For more information visit the Yale IR Outreach Program website and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

On-call responsibilities include emergency coverage at the York Street and Saint Raphael Campuses of Yale-New Haven Hospital and the West Haven VA. Call responsibility starts IR1 year, and increases throughout the residency training.

Junior On-call

Senior On-call