Interventional Radiology - Training

Training

Traditional

As in most medical specialties, training varies depending on varying rules and regulations from country to country. In the United States, interventional radiologists are physicians whose education and training traditionally includes completing a college degree, four years of medical school, a year of training in general medicine and/or surgery (internship), a four year diagnostic radiology residency program, and then a one or two year fellowship in vascular & interventional radiology.

With the evolving need to train more clinically oriented interventionists, two alternative pathways to achieve certification in IR have been established through the leadership of the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR): The DIRECT and Clinical pathways. For both pathways, the SIR states that the trainee must become proficient in management of inpatient and outpatient pre-procedure, post-procedure, and follow-up clinical care for all disease processes pertinent to the practice of VIR.

DIRECT

The DIRECT (Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Enhanced Clinical Training) pathway allows for up to two years of clinical training prior entering the program. Therefore, residents may enter the new pathway from medical school or after two or more years of clinical training in other specialties such as internal medicine or vascular surgery. The core diagnostic training is 27 months in duration, with 21 total months of VIR training for a total of 48 months (four year) duration. The advantage of the DIRECT pathway is that upon successful completion of the program and 12 months of clinical practice, a clinician can achieve both a Diagnostic Radiology board certification and a subspecialty vascular IR certificate. The American Board of Radiology offers a complete list of programs that offer this pathway at: http://theabr.org/ic/ic_other/ic_direct.html.

Clinical

An integrated Clinical Pathway has been created to provide breadth and depth of clinical experience for trainees who desire a primary career focusing on VIR rather than diagnostic radiology. The 6 year program allows for 29 months of Diagnostic Radiology training, 19 months of clinical training (including a medicine or surgery intern year) and research, and 21 months of VIR fellowship training. The Clinical Pathway is offered by institutions such as UVA, Northwestern and Brigham and Women's Hospital. The Clinical Pathway allows for certification in VIR and for board certification in diagnostic radiology.

Dual Certificate

A newer Dual Certificate program has just been approved for implementation which is a six year curriculum, similar to the Clinical Pathway, that provides training for Board Certification in both Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology.

Pediatric

A handful of programs currently offer interventional radiology fellowships that focus on training in the treatment of children.