A radiology residency is one of the more competitive residencies among the specialties. That being the case, the realistic medical student should have a solid record of academic accomplishment. Being an "academic superstar" is not a requirement for our program, but we do receive a very large number of applications from very talented and qualified candidates. So the stronger your record, the better your chance of obtaining a spot in our program. The chairman or residency director of the radiology department at your medical school should be able to advise you and give you a fair assessment of how competitive you will be as a candidate for a residency slot in radiology.
In addition to academic talent and performance demonstrated by board scores and transcripts, a competitive candidate should present a transcript that reveals experience in the clinical areas where radiology plays a major role. As you decide about how to structure your elective time in medical school, it should be obvious that some arenas of medicine require very little imaging while others are "image intense". Transcripts that reveal experiences in the surgical specialties cast a favorable impression. The medical services of neurology, pulmonology, cardiology and pediatrics will expose you to areas of medicine where imaging is an integral part of diagnosis and management. ICU and emergency department experiences are also opportunities to see imaging and its role in patient care. If you are interested in radiology as a career, it is to get a good foundation in clinical medicine and not so important in medical school to try to pack in radiology electives. With a good foundation in clinical medicine and surgery, when you learn about radiology later in your career, you’ll have an excellent understanding of how imaging interpretations and procedures affect patient management. You can then talk intelligently and knowledgeably with referring physicians about their clinical cases.
Our department is aggressively pursuing research in medical imaging and if you have experiences in medical imaging research or are strongly interested in research in medical imaging, we would invite your application. Our research infrastructure is substantial and includes a research MRI unit, as well as opportunities for research on the PET scanner. Our state-of-the-art Radiology Research Laboratory is providing opportunities to advance our knowledge of new interventional procedures. Our department has established a division of medical informatics. If your interests are in that area, you may strongly wish to consider our program.
Another unique aspect to the IU Department of Radiology is its substantial investment in radiology education, particularly for medical students and residents. We have been working diligently for the past several years to create a Division of Education for the purpose of studying how best to teach radiology and other medical information using all available technologies, providing continuing education to radiologists, technologists, and administrators by working hand-in-hand with industry, and to develop new technologies. We have many faculty who are producing computer-based interactive educational materials and we already have hundreds of teaching files available for medical students and radiologists available through this website. (Visit our Courses and Resources page).