Interventional Radiology Independent Residency

A Message from the Program Director

Interventional radiology is one of the most exciting and fastest growing fields in medicine today. In many cases, interventional procedures are becoming the treatment of choice as they offer a minimally invasive alternative to invasive surgery without the associated morbidity and mortality.

The Division of Interventional Radiology offers a full spectrum of vascular and nonvascular procedures, including diagnostic angiography, percutaneous angioplasty and stenting, embolization therapy, percutaneous tumor ablative therapies, thrombolysis, gastrointestinal/biliary interventions, genitourinary interventions, transplant interventions, dialysis fistula/graft evaluation and treatment, drainage and/or sclerosis, venous ablation and vascular access.

In addition, the Division of Interventional Radiology works closely with the Mass General Cancer Center to provide patients with chemoembolization and radioembolization procedures as well as percutaneous ablative therapies such as radiofrequency ablation, cryoablation, ethanol ablation portal vein embolization and irreversible electroporation (IRE)/nanoknife.

The Interventional Radiology Independent Residency is an ACGME-accredited, one-year program. Our philosophy on training is consistent with the ACGME emphasis on graded-responsibility and identification of and concentration on core competencies. The program is committed to encouraging trainees to gain experience through maximum hands-on participation by performing complex procedures, rather than through observation. After completion of the fellowship, individuals will be eligible to sit for dual certification in diagnostic and interventional radiology.

Throughout the United States, all IR fellowships were discontinued on June 30, 2020. These programs will have been replaced with the interventional radiology independent residency.

Clinical Experience

Mass General is the largest Harvard Medical School-affiliated teaching hospital with over 900 beds. It is a world recognized, full service facility covering multiple subspecialties. It is a Level 1 trauma center with a nationally recognized cancer center and active liver, kidney and pancreas transplant surgery programs. With over 47,000 inpatient admissions per year and over 1 million outpatient visits per year, trainees can gain exposure to a wide variety of patients and diagnoses.

Facilities

The interventional facilities include eight fluoroscopy procedure suites, two procedure CT rooms and two procedure ultrasound rooms. Four additional hybrid operating rooms with open and endovascular surgical capabilities are also available. All fluoroscopy procedure suites are equipped with digital subtraction angiography capability and physiologic monitoring.

The Department of Radiology is well staffed with dedicated interventional nursing personnel to provide conscious sedation and procedural care. All nurses in the department are critical care and/or ER-certified, and several are pediatric specialists.

How to Apply

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, residency interviews will be conducted virtually for the 2020-2021 cycle. Further details regarding the remote interview day will be announced closer to interview dates. The interview day includes an introduction from Dr. Arellano and several one-on-one interviews with interventional radiology faculty and trainees.

All applications will be accepted and reviewed using the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) available from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Candidates will be notified by ERAS and invited to virtually interview.