Course Director:

• Ed Donnelly, M.D., Chest Imaging
• Martin Jordanov, M.D., Musculoskeletal

Fourth year medical students who enroll in the Radiology clerkship spend 4 weeks gaining broad exposure to all areas of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine. The goals of the clerkship are:

• To become aware of and understand the nature of all currently available imaging procedures.
• To acquire a basic understanding of what each imaging procedure can and cannot accomplish and how to use these procedures in the evaluation of the clinical problem.
• To gain a firm knowledge of the indications, contradictions, risks and costs of commonly used imaging procedures.
• To learn the preparation and post procedural routines for imaging examinations.
• To learn to recognize basic anatomic structures as they appear on imaging studies in the normal patient and in common disease states.
• To gain an understanding of the role of the radiologist as a diagnostic consultant by understanding the radiographic signs and images of medical imaging.
  
  
  Medical Students are welcomed and encouraged to use the Departmental library, located down the hall from the medical student classroom. Housed in the library are the ACR teaching files that typically are of great benefit to medical students. We provide each medical student with a list of suggested cases for medical students, to eliminate any irrelevant cases. The ACR teaching files are also on laser disc and CD-ROM in the computer lab for student use, with the understanding that radiology residents and fellows have priority and reserve the right to bump medical students off the computers.

The medical student classroom is reserved at all times for medical students. There is a cabinet located in the room full of books, projectors, tape players and seminar materials for review. There are six new lectures from the RSNA in slide/cassette format on the following topics:

• Radiology of Bowel Obstruction
• Emergency Room Chest Radiology in Infants and Children
• Thoracic Manifestations of AIDS
• Acute Pulmonary Embolism
• Critical Care Radiology
• Spine and Cranial Trauma

In addition, there are several of the Lucy Squire slide/cassette series available:

• Esophagus and Duodenum
• Kidney
• Abdomen and Stomach
• Colon
• Bone

Students spend a large amount of time at the reading boards with the Radiology residents and faculty. In addition, residents teach 6 exhibits throughout the month on:

• Pleura and Chest Wall
• Pulmonary Parenchyma
• Bone
• Mediastinum
• Abdomen
• Head CT
  

Numerous members of the faculty also give lectures on a variety of topics:

• Intro to CT
• Low Back Pain
• ENT
• MRI of the Knee
• MRI
• Ultrasound
• Emergent Radiology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Pediatrics
• CT of Trauma

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Grades

Students receive a grade for the clerkship based upon:

• General participation, performance and initiative during the month. Good attendance is mandatory. This constitutes 1/3 of the grade.
• Performance on the final exam. This is a written exam of questions related to hanging films (regular and CT). This constitutes 1/3 of the grade.
• Case presentation: During the last week of the elective, each student will present a 10 minute case report to the group and either Dr. Arildsen or Dr. Donnelly. You should try to find a case that has interesting X-ray findings, but more importantly, illustrates why certain radiographic procedures were valuable. These do not need to be rare or unusual cases; straightforward cases illustrating a good teaching point are preferred. The presentation should include a 2 page typed handout containing history and physical, X-ray findings, and a discussion. If there is a pertinent journal article you wish to include, you may do so. Films should be checked out of the radiology film library under Dr. Arildsen’s name.
  Students typically spend a considerable amount of time with the Chest service, as that is the most common exposure to radiology in other specialties. Those students who are going into OB enjoy spending extra time with the Ultrasound section, and those who are looking to go into Pediatrics can get a double dose, as our Pediatric Radiologists also teach in the Pediatric Department. The course has a very open structure, and students are free to spend their time studying what interests them the most. There are no requirements on how many procedures have to be observed, or how much time must be spent with each section. There is no patient responsibility, and freedom from night and weekend call. This leaves plenty of time open to students to learn as much as they can about radiology.

Students are provided with a copy of the textbook, Basic Radiology, by Chen, Pope & Ott, to use during the four weeks but it must be returned in the same condition at the time of the final.

Medical students find that the Radiology clerkship is very laid back and enjoyable. You learn at your own pace, with few limitations but lots of opportunities. Of course, as with all courses of this nature, you only get out what you put into it. As doctors, you owe it to yourself and your future patients to learn as much about Radiology as possible.

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Visiting Students

Vanderbilt welcomes visiting students from other medical schools, provided that the student’s Dean (or designate) confirms the following:

• The coursework, as requested, is approved for this student for credit as a portion of her/his medical school’s required coursework.
• The student must be adequately covered under professional liability insurance and health insurance provided through her/his medical school.
• It is understood that the visiting medical student is not an employee of Vanderbilt and is not covered under the Vanderbilt Worker’s Compensation Plan.
• Vanderbilt reserves the right to cancel any rotation if the student’s performance is unsatisfactory, or if the safety or health of patients is at risk.
• The student has been immunized against rubeola, rubella, mumps, varicella, polio and hepatitus B. She/he should also have diptheria-tetanus and influenza boosters in accordance with the CDC guidelines. She/he should also have been tested for tuberculosis in the last year.
  
  No visiting student will be given priority over a Vanderbilt student for course enrollment.

Visiting students wishing to obtain information regarding enrollment should contact Laura Hughes:

Laura Hughes
Residency and Fellowship Coordinator
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
1161 21st Avenue South
CCC-1121 Medical Center North
Nashville, TN 37232-2675
615-322-3780
Radprogram@vanderbilt.edu