Fellowship Director: Dr. Melanie Theriault
Residency Program Director: Dr. Jana Taylor
Program Administrator: Cathy Torchia
General Overview
The McGill University Health Center (MUHC) is the tertiary care teaching institution of McGill University that comprises approximately 1,000 total impatient beds and performs approximately 400,000 radiologic examinations per year. As well, the department of Radiology annually performs 6,000 interventional procedures. Nonvascular intervention is an integral part of the Abdominal Imaging fellowship. Fellows are exposed to a high volume of diverse cases and are supervised by a dynamic and dedicated group of abdominal imagers with subspecialty training.
Duration: 1 Year
Objectives/Guidelines
At the end of the fellowship, the fellow will be able to:
- Detect any abnormality on ultrasound, CT and MRI, give a pertinent differential diagnosis and propose appropriate management
- Perform ultrasound and CT-guided procedures safely
- To serve as the first line consultant to referring clinicians, including participation at tumor board
- Participate in the teaching of medical students and residents.
- Participate in scholarly projects
Structure
Clinical activities take place at the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) and Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) sites of the MUHC. The fellows will be scheduled at both hospitals during phases of their training. The fellowship includes access to advanced, state-of-the art imaging equipment: 3T MRI system, three 1.5T MRI systems, two PET-CT scanners, 6 CT scanners and 15 ultrasound units.
The fellow will have daily assignments in US, CT or MRI. He or she will progressively assume the role of junior-staff and will be supervised by staff radiologists. The fellow will benefit from progressive autonomy during the academic year and will be able to further develop their leadership skills.
The procedures performed include: US guided thyroid and abdominal biopsies, paracentesis, thoracentesis and abscess drainages. Procedures under CT guidance (drainages and biopsies) are also frequently performed.
Fellow’s responsibilities & Schedule
- Learn to function autonomously as a radiology consultant in US, CT and MR interpretation
- Perform and manage non-vascular interventional procedures safely.
- Learn how to manage the workload and prioritize cases on a daily basis
- Teach residents and medical students, organize teaching rounds.
- Participate in at least one scholarly project, with the goal of publishing in a major peer-reviewed journal.
- Learn how to manage on-call workload and identify / manage urgent cases
- Participate in Tumor Board
EXPECTED CASE LOAD (daily)
- CT rotation: 15
- MR rotation: 10
- US rotation: 20 diagnostic + 4 procedures
Evaluation
- The fellow is evaluated on a daily basis by the attending staff
- A formal written evaluation is completed every 3 months, using the CanMEDS roles scheme. The fellow will meet the fellowship supervisor for direct feedback.