Cardiothoracic Imaging Fellowship
Program Overview
The Department of Radiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC is offering a one-year fellowship in Cardiothoracic Imaging. The goal of the fellowship is to provide comprehensive and advanced training in both pulmonary and cardiac imaging, as well as thoracic interventions. The pulmonary experience encompasses a wide variety of inpatient and outpatient studies, including high-resolution chest CT. Cardiac imaging includes both cardiac CT and MRI, with both adult and congenital disease being routinely studied. Thoracic interventions include percutaneous needle biopsy, thoracentesis, pleural and pericardial catheter placement, and thermal ablation.
The Cardiothoracic Imaging fellow will rotate through the Los Angeles County USC (LAC+USC) Medical Center and USC University Hospital. The fellow will also be reading studies performed at the HCC1 and HCC2 private outpatient imaging facilities. A major strength of the program is the rich clinical experience derived from the tremendous variety in pathology and patient population throughout all the sites, which are conveniently located on a single medical campus. LAC+USC is one of the largest and busiest public hospitals in the United States. USC University Hospital boasts an active heart and lung transplant service, as well as other specialized surgical techniques. PACS workstations are employed throughout the department, and Vitrea 3-D workstations are also present at both LAC+USC and University Hospital for advanced post-processing.
The fellow will work closely with the five Department of Radiology cardiothoracic faculty, as well as a collaborating colleague from the Department of Cardiology. The fellow will also access a valuable source of training by participating in the various pulmonary, cardiology, and thoracic surgery interdisciplinary conferences offered throughout the week. The fellow is also expected to work with and teach the USC Radiology residents. Following completion of training, the fellow will have accumulated enough clinical cardiac CT experience to meet the qualifications for Level 2 certification.
The fellowship can be tailored to radiologists interested in either an academic or private practice career. 3 months of electives are provided, which can include research time for those pursuing an academic career. Additionally, the fellow will be provided a half-academic day a week to conduct research and/or prepare conferences.
There is no unpaid call requirement. Paid, after-hours moonlighting shifts are offered at LAC+USC Medical Center. The fellow is expected to cover 1-3 shifts a month. During these shifts, the fellow will work closely with the radiology residents and provide radiology coverage for Emergency Department and acute inpatient studies.
In summary, the Cardiothoracic Imaging fellowship at USC provides a specialized but comprehensive experience in cardiopulmonary imaging and intervention that will benefit the fellow in any post-training clinical setting.