Sports, Orthopedic and Emergency Imaging Fellowship

Sports, Orthopedic, and Emergency Imaging Fellowship

Fellowship Information

Number of Positions: 3
Length of Fellowship: 1 year

Facilities: Memorial Hermann Hospital-Texas Medical Center (MH-TMC), Memorial Hermann- TMC Outpatient Imaging, Memorial Hermann Rockets Orthopedic Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital-Houston, Texas.

Requirements:

• Applicants must have completed a diagnostic radiology residency.
• Applicants must be American Board of Radiology Certification Eligible

How to Apply:

Via MATCH https://www.nrmp.org

Accepting Applications: Currently accepting applications for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Selection Process:

The Fellowship Program Directors select fellows. All interviews will be virtual.

November 1, 2024 – First day to accept applications

January 13, 2025  – First day of interviews

March 31, 2025 – Last day of interviews.

Goals and Objectives for Training:

The Sports, Orthopedic, and Emergency Imaging Fellowship in the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging is designed to train radiologists in both musculoskeletal and emergency imaging.  Musculoskeletal imaging is focused on high-end sports imaging, image-guided musculoskeletal procedures, and musculoskeletal trauma.  Emergency radiology training takes place at Memorial Hermann Hospital, one of the busiest level I trauma centers in the country.

The fellowship in Sports, Orthopedics, and Emergency Imaging is designed to provide advanced training in computed tomography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging.

Clinical emphasis

Fellow accepted to the Sports, Orthopedic, and Emergency Imaging fellowship will have the flexibility to choose from predominately musculoskeletal, predominately emergency imaging, or combined musculoskeletal/emergency imaging tracks.  Two elective rotations in other specialties such as body MRI, neuroradiology, and breast imaging are available for fellows to further customize their fellowship to suit the needs of their future employment.

Fellows may be promoted to Instructor in the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Imaging during their training. This change in status allows increased clinical responsibility (average of one day per week of faculty responsibility) with a corresponding increase in salary. This also provides valuable experience for independent practice, and experience in supervising residents.

MUSCULOSKELETAL IMAGING FELLOWSHIP TRACK

Musculoskeletal imaging rotations are primarily at the Memorial Hermann outpatient imaging department in the Texas Medical Center and the Memorial Hermann Rockets Orthopedic Hospital.  Fellows will also have the opportunity to rotate at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Fellows have the opportunity to interact with orthopedic surgeons, rheumatologists, PM & R, and many other specialties both in interdisciplinary conferences and daily clinical work.  The program provides imaging for many professional and collegiate athletes, including providing imaging services for the Houston Rockets and University of Houston.  Memorial Hermann is one of only two level I trauma centers servicing the greater Houston area and is home to many regionally and nationally renowned sports, joint replacement, orthopedic oncology, and orthopedic trauma surgeons.  Fellows get exposure not just to a wide array of orthopedic pathology but also learn about the latest surgical techniques.

Fellows read advanced level musculoskeletal imaging for Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.  Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital is one of only two children’s hospitals in the region and is the primary referral center for the 16 hospital Memorial Hermann Health System.  Fellows interact and provide services for many pediatric musculoskeletal specialties including rheumatology, orthopedics, and infectious disease.

Memorial Hermann Hospital has an orthopedic oncology specialty team that receives both region and national referrals.  Fellows read both initial and follow-up imaging on a wide range of orthopedic soft tissue and bone tumors as well as participate in weekly interdisciplinary orthopedic tumor conferences.  Fellows can further supplement their musculoskeletal oncology experience by rotating through the MD Anderson Cancer Center, one of the premier cancer treatment centers in the nation.

Musculoskeletal interventional procedures are an emphasis of our program.  Fellows are trained in fluoroscopic, ultrasound, and CT guided injections including arthrography, cyst/joint aspirations, tendon/muscle/fascial injections, and peripheral nerve blocks.  Fellows receive training in utilization of various steroids, visco-supplements, platelet rich plasma (PRP), and some prolotherapy.  The opportunity for experience in some spine procedures, such as epidural steroid injections and myelography, is available through elective rotations.

Education is an emphasis for our program.  Fellows participate in weekly orthopedic interdisciplinary conferences as well as weekly musculoskeletal teleconferences with other academic institutions.  Fellows are expected to assist in preparation for some of the interdisciplinary conferences as well as participate in the teaching of residents as they rotate through the service.

Completion of a research project during fellowship is not required, but is encouraged.  Presentation of research material at national conferences is supported financially by the department.  Dedicated academic time for work on a research project is granted on a case-by-case basis.

EMERGENCY IMAGING FELLOWSHIP TRACK

The emergency radiology component of the SOEI Fellowship Program at UTHealth – McGovern Medical School is designed to provide advanced education and training for candidates wishing to seek a career in emergency radiology. With over 8,000 trauma admissions in 2016, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System – TMC Emergency Center (MHHS-TMC or, simply, MH EC) is consistently one of the busiest level one trauma centers in the world, serving a population of approximately 6 million people, in a 150-mile region surrounding Houston, Texas. Fellows receive training in imaging protocol management, hospital informatics, disaster management planning and, most importantly, imaging interpretation for critically injured patients suffering from blunt and penetrating trauma. Fellows are also exposed to research, education and mentoring opportunities within the department.

Rotations

The majority of the clinical rotations for emergency radiology fellows will be in the MH EC. The fellow will begin on weekday shifts, typically M-F, 7am – 5pm. Once the fellow’s skills are established, the work schedule will be altered to include evening hours, 11am – 7pm and/or 3pm – 11pm. The overall coverage model is subject to change, but has been stable for several years now.

When covering the busy trauma service, fellows will be responsible for ensuring all examinations read by the section are preliminarily interpreted in a timely fashion. As the year progresses, residents will increasingly perform the preliminary interpretations. There will be a gradual increase in fellow responsibility towards supervising and over-reading resident interpretations, based on experience. Eventually, fellows will be asked to provide final interpretations, as part of their faculty responsibilities outlined elsewhere in this document. As we operate our service using a team approach, there will be times when the faculty assists in dictating to keep the service running smoothly. Additionally, fellows will have an opportunity to teach, advise and mentor senior medical students seeking careers primarily in radiology, emergency medicine and surgery when on our service during electives.

MH EC sees a large number of blunt and penetrating trauma patients, from a wide variety of mechanisms. Fellows will gain an appreciation for trends in injury patterns and learn to prioritize patients according to level of severity. Live timely consultation to the emergency medicine and trauma surgery services is encouraged.

A widely varied breadth and volume of medical emergencies are also encountered in the MH EC and our county facility, LBJ Hospital, and many of these examinations will be interpreted by the emergency radiology section.  Some final interpretation of imaging studies of the central nervous system, ultrasonograms and most CTA examinations are provided by the relevant radiology subspeciality section. Similarly, there is a robust pediatric radiology section which handles most of the examinations obtained on pediatric patients.

At times, fellows may be asked to perform and/or supervise radiology/surgery residents doing retrograde urethrography procedures in one of the trauma bays or a dedicated X-ray room in the emergency radiology suite. Emergency fluoroscopic examinations, while rare, are also a possibility.

Research & Academic Time

Each fellow is expected to complete at least one research project during their year. This will begin with preparing and submitting a research proposal for IRB approval, conducting the data acquisition, drafting a manuscript and submitting it to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. There is also an opportunity for fellows to prepare and submit their work for conference presentation to radiology societies, such as ASER, ARRS or RSNA.

Emergency radiology fellows will be given one full day of office time on most weeks to pursue academic efforts such as research, development of educational materials, and independent study. This will typically fall on a Tuesday or Thursday.

Conferences

ASER Intergalactic Conference – Monthly national emergency radiology conference hosted online by Emory University. Conference runs on Thursdays from 2pm-3pm CST. Fellow is expected to present at least one case per month. At the time of this writing, this conference is on hiatus.

Multidisciplinary Trauma M & M – Monthly multidisciplinary conference to review problematic cases. The conference, run by the trauma surgery service, is held on 3 Jones, in the Trauma Conference room from 7am-8am. Fellow should attend when possible.

Didactic Conferences – There are two conference series for radiology residents. The weekly Fundamentals course is given to PGY II residents every Wednesday from 1:30pm – 4:30pm. Pertinent lectures are typically given by the Emergency Radiology faculty. However, interested fellows may inquire with the section chief regarding an opportunity to participate by presenting part or all of a session assigned to the emergency radiology section. There is also a daily noon conference given to all radiology residents. Fellows are not expected to attend, but may request permission to attend one or more of these, if of particular interest. At times, fellows may be asked to cover the ERad clinical service while faculty is lecturing or attending meetings. When possible, fellows are expected to attend the radiology department M&M conferences, which are held monthly during the noon hour, typically on a Friday.

Emergency Radiology Section Meetings – Fellows may, at times, be asked to attend section meetings, which are typically held monthly on Tuesdays from 5pm – 6pm.

Compensation & Vacation

Salary and allotted vacation time are given in accordance with the University of Texas System policies, and administered by the Department of Diagnostic & Interventional Imaging. Additional time away from work may be granted, on an individual basis, by the Emergency Radiology Section Chief, with approval of the Department Chair, to present material at or attend one or more professional conferences.

Supervision and Evaluation:

• The fellow is directly supervised and mentored by fellowship-trained faculty during all imaging study readouts.
• The fellows’ work performance is evaluated by the supervising faculty via electronic evaluation. The evaluation is discussed quarterly with the fellow and the fellowship director.

Program Directors

Nicholas M. Beckmann, MD
Program Director- Musculoskeletal Imaging

6431 Fannin Street, MSB 2.130B
Houston, Texas 77030

[email protected]
Telephone: 713-500-7706
Fax: 713-500-7710

Ronald M. Bilow, MD
Program Director- Emergency Imaging

6431 Fannin Street, MSB 2.130B
Houston, Texas 77030

[email protected]
Telephone: 713-500-7706
Fax: 713-500-7710