Mission Statement

The Department of Radiology, as part of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine, works diligently to offer outstanding graduate training in all areas of radiology. Residents completing the program are expected to be well-trained in all clinical and modality-based areas of Radiology and should be well-prepared to join a private practice or continue with a fellowship in a subspecialty area of interest. Residents are expected to demonstrate competence in interpretation of exams and performance of radiologic procedures by the time they have finished the program. They are expected to show independence and exhibit a high level of clinical judgment as they are completing training.

Our department emphasizes patient care. We strive to train radiology residents to think for themselves, have the tools to demonstrate excellent clinical judgment, and act as an integral part of the overall health care team in providing excellent patient management. This is achieved in part through having residents become involved in a case by consultation prior to ordering and performing procedures, especially invasive procedures. Since the University of Missouri Health Care emphasizes provision of rural health care, the Department of Radiology, in support of that, provides teleradiology services to a number of rural hospitals in central Missouri, and our residents should feel comfortable in a rural setting. A number of our residents choose a rural setting for practice after completion of training.

We think that it is important for our residents to be able to teach others. We provide many opportunities for the residents to participate in teaching activities, and have the residents present colloquia, journal club, case conferences, intra- and inter-departmental conferences, and give presentations to medical students who are rotating through Radiology. We also support research by residents and encourage them to complete a project that can become a published paper and a presentation at a national meeting.

The emphasis of our teaching services is the one-to-one, hands-on educational experience “at the viewbox." We strive to maintain a one-to-one ratio of faculty to residents. In each area, either clinical or modality-based, the faculty member works closely with the resident throughout the day. Residents are given graduated responsibility throughout the program. In the first year, residents are very closely supervised while they interpret studies, and the interpretation in the first few months is generally a joint effort. As their training progresses, the residents will take on increasing responsibility, and will often review a number of cases for review by the faculty member. They are expected to be able to interface with residents and faculty of the clinical teams in an increasingly competent and intelligent manner as training progresses. In the later stages of training, residents are expected to be able to analyze and prepare even the most difficult and complex cases for review by faculty.