Residency Program Director's Welcome

Thanks for your interest in the University of Kentucky! Our Department of Radiology residency is fully accredited by the ACGME for 25 residents. We will be offering six PGY- 2 positions starting in July 2014 in the 2013 match.

This is a very exciting time at the University of Kentucky. As you will see if you browse around the UK HealthCare webpages, UK is in the midst of a massive expansion, including an entirely new main hospital building. Our department is also rapidly expanding. Just in the last few years, UK Radiology has replaced our old PACS system with the best new system on the market, purchased new image processing work stations, and opened a new on-site imaging facility with state-of-the-art MRI and CT, which complements the recent upgrades or replacements of our existing MRI and CT scanners. The opening of our new emergency department has been coupled with the creation of a new division of emergency radiology. Of course, we are also expanding the size of our faculty to match our growing patient volume. We have recently expanded from fewer than 20 faculty to more than 40. We are still growing and expanding services.

Many improvements have also been made in the residency program. We have doubled the number of didactic lectures and conferences that we give, and expanded the scope of these conferences to include section-specific journal clubs and M&M conferences, discussion panels, expert lectures from outside the department, etc. The curriculum has already been restructured to match the schedule and structure of the new board exam. We have remodeled the resident library and upgraded all its resources. The resident lecture room has been updated with state-of-the-art equipment. We have changed our call system from a traditional model to a night-float model, and provided more dedicated research time to the residents. Residents will have the opportunity to learn how to give effective lectures and talks by working with faculty mentors.

We have recently started our first radiology fellowship, in musculoskeletal radiology, and several more fellowships are expected in short order.

We are an excellent program for medical students who wish to keep all options open for their future career path. As a university-based program, we offer opportunities for research and an academic career path, and many of our residents have gone on to do top fellowships and to have successful careers in academics. Unlike some university programs, however, we offer superb hands-on diagnostic and interventional training, and many of our residents have joined private practices without doing fellowships, fully competent and confident after their training with us. So, if you do not wish to commit yourself at this early stage to either a purely academic or a purely community-based residency track, you should come and take a look at the University of Kentucky, where we offer the best of both worlds.

Michael A. Brooks, M.D.
Associate Professor
Education Vice Chair of Radiology & Residency Program Director