Curriculum

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Our curriculum is designed to provide a rigorous, structured, and progressive training experience — one that builds a strong foundation in diagnostic radiology during the early years, with deepening immersion in interventional radiology as training advances. The program is structured to develop not only technical procedural skill, but also the clinical judgment, patient communication skills, and longitudinal care experience that define the modern interventional radiologist.

Integrated IR residents train alongside their Diagnostic Radiology colleagues for the core years of residency, sharing rotations, conferences, and call. IR-specific rotations are introduced progressively, with dedicated IR time increasing year after year and the final year devoted entirely to Interventional Radiology. This structure ensures that by graduation, residents are not only procedurally capable — they are clinically complete.

Across all years of training, residents experience increasing autonomy and responsibility, progressing from supervised participation to independent case management, consult service leadership, and resident-level teaching. By PGY-6, residents are functioning at the level of a junior attending.

    Residents enter the core Diagnostic Radiology curriculum, establishing the imaging foundation that underpins excellent interventional practice. Rotations span general radiology, IR, nuclear medicine, pediatric radiology, body CT, neuroradiology, musculoskeletal radiology, and ultrasound. IR call exposure begins at this stage, providing early acclimation to the procedural and clinical demands of interventional practice.

    Residents continue advanced DR rotations with growing complexity, including body CT, body MR, mammography, neuroradiology, musculoskeletal, nuclear medicine, ultrasound, and pediatric radiology. Dedicated IR rotations are incorporated throughout the year, and residents continue developing procedural skills alongside IR faculty with increasing case involvement and one-on-one mentorship.

    The PGY-4 year continues to build advanced diagnostic competency across subspecialties, including body CT, body MR, fluoroscopy, neuroradiology, mammography, nuclear medicine, pediatrics, musculoskeletal, ultrasound, and obstetrical ultrasound. Residents attend the American Institute for Radiologic Pathology (AIRP) — a nationally recognized milestone in radiology training. Dedicated IR rotations continue with expanded procedural responsibility and increasing independence in the IR suite.

    The PGY-5 year is concentrated on advanced interventional radiology training. Residents participate in dedicated IR rotations, a critical care/ICU rotation that develops the clinical management and patient care skills essential to modern IR practice, and IR-adjacent electives — including exposure at the MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper and outpatient IR clinic. Residents are deeply engaged in the IR consult service, developing the clinical decision-making and longitudinal patient care experience that distinguishes outstanding interventional radiologists.

    The final year of training is devoted entirely to Interventional Radiology. Residents function with a high level of supervised autonomy, managing complex cases, leading the IR consult service, and serving as the primary trainee in the IR suite. Substantial time in the IR clinic ensures that graduates are fully prepared for outpatient-based interventional practice. This year is designed to produce confident, capable, and clinically complete interventional radiologists — ready for independent practice from day one.

Procedural Experience

Across all years of training, residents develop expertise in the full spectrum of vascular and non-vascular image-guided procedures, including:

  • Angiography and embolization, including uterine fibroid embolization (UFE), prostatic artery embolization (PAE), and pulmonary AVM treatment.
  • Thrombolysis, mechanical thrombectomy, angioplasty, and stenting.
  • Venous interventions including catheter-directed thrombolysis and venous access.
  • TIPS, BRTO, and IVC filter placement and retrieval.
  • Tumor ablation (microwave, radiofrequency, cryoablation).
  • Interventional oncology: transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and radioembolization (Y-90).
  • Dialysis access creation, maintenance, and salvage.
  • Image-guided biopsies and percutaneous drain placements.
  • Gastrointestinal and genitourinary interventions.
  • Vertebral augmentation (kyphoplasty/vertebroplasty).
  • Neurointerventional procedures.
  • Outpatient IR clinic: procedure planning, patient consultation, and shared decision-making.