Nuclear Medicine Residency Program
The nuclear medicine residency program focuses on diagnostic, therapeutic and research applications of nuclear medicine and procedures. The program's specific objectives are to offer a training program that covers all clinical diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radiotracers in the practice of nuclear medicine; to encourage active participation in clinical investigations; and to provide the necessary facilities and logistical and technical support for specific research projects.
The nuclear medicine residency is a three-year program. Residents are expected to have at least one year of ACGME-approved training in internal medicine, pediatrics, pathology, radiology, or related clinical field prior to beginning the nuclear medicine residency.
Experience
During the course of training, residents will acquire an understanding of the basic science and instrumentation underlying nuclear medicine and become proficient in the diagnostic uses of radiotracers for in vivo imaging and non-imaging procedures. Residents will gain experience in therapeutic applications of radionuclides and will have an opportunity to develop clinical competency through active participation and involvement in patient care. Attention will be paid to correlation with other imaging modalities such as CT, MRI and PET. Residents will become familiar with new molecular imaging technologies.
Instruction
Teaching and training in all areas of nuclear medicine is provided through formal lectures, instruction, demonstrations, practical performance of preparation of radiopharmaceuticals, and scanning procedures. Didactic presentations, practical laboratory exercises and review sessions will be ongoing throughout the three-year residency training program. Residents will participate in daily nuclear medicine imaging conferences. These conferences are attended by the Nuclear Medicine staff, members of the imaging staff of Radiology, Radiology residents and Internal Medicine residents. Residents in Nuclear Medicine are also expected to participate in the weekly conferences of the Department of Radiology and the biweekly research conferences. Each resident, when involved in a specific research project during the second and third year of training, will be required to give a seminar on her/his research.
Facilities
Nuclear medicine residents have full access to the University of Tennessee Biomedical Imaging Center, a comprehensive program for imaging research and clinical care. A complete PET Center and high field, multinuclear magnetic resonance instrumentation are two of its numerous resources. Basic and applied radiochemistry and radiotracer research are major program components. An extensive Image Processing Laboratory networks PET, MRI, CT and SPECT and communicates with the UT academic campus, Oak Ridge National Laboratories and wide area computer networks.
Collaborations
Throughout the training program, nuclear medicine residents will be encouraged to work closely with residents and staff from the Department of Radiology, other medical center departments, the Oak Ridge National Laboratories and the University of Tennessee. In this way, they will develop an acute awareness of the interdependence of clinical care and advanced research and develop skills necessary to function in contemporary medical institutions.
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