The Department of Radiology of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center offers a 1-year clinical fellowship in cardiopulmonary imaging. 

North Carolina Baptist Hospital, the teaching hospital of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, is a modern 850-bed referral center (including a 150-bed children's hospital) serving a population of more than 2,000,000 people. It is the only university teaching hospital serving western North Carolina, southern Virginia, and western South Carolina. 

The case load in chest radiology presents a broad range of the diseases that affect the heart, lungs, and mediastinum. More than 250 new cases of lung cancer are seen at our Medical Center yearly. Excellent working relations are maintained with pulmonary medicine, cardiothoracic surgery, hematology-oncology and pathology.

Program Information

 

Program Director:	Caroline Chiles, MD cchiles@wfubmc.edu
Section Secretary:	Kimberly Cordial kcordial@wfubmc.edu
Address:	Department of Radiology Wake Forest University School of Medicine Medical Center Boulevard Winston-Salem, NC  27157-1088
Phone:	336-716-2471
Fax:	336-716-1278

Clinical Training Offered

• Radiography
• Computed tomography (CT)
• Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging
• Image-guided biopsy
• Interventional procedures (pleural drainages, tumor ablation, etc.) 

Organization of Fellowship

The fellowship is designed to enhance an individual's skills in cardiopulmonary medicine and the techniques of imaging chest disease. Assignments to the clinical rotations are made for a minimum of 3 days per week. The assignment includes interpretation of cases, supervision of residents and performance of procedures. One to 2 days per week are provided to promote the fellow's research efforts. For those interested in a 2-year fellowship, time may be provided for course work in statistics, for grant writing and for additional research. Publication is strongly encouraged. 

Chest Radiology Research

Opportunities available for research activities include case studies, descriptive studies and laboratory studies. We have as members of the Department of Radiology a group of engineers and physicists who are actively engaged in development of magnetic resonance imaging, digital tomosynthesis, teleradiology, and picture archiving and communication systems. In addition, we have resources available in the departments of anatomy, pathology and biostatistics.

Research and development funds are available from the department and from North Carolina Baptist Hospital for meritorious pilot research projects by the fellows. 

Description of Program

Three weeks vacation are given each year. Recognized holidays at North Carolina Baptist Hospital include New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Easter (Good Friday), Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. 

The salary is on a par with other nationally recognized fellowships. Additional time off for meetings is given if the fellow presents a paper. Paid attendance at one national meeting per year is provided.

There is no in-house or overnight on-call commitment. The fellow participates in the department-wide schedule for daytime coverage, weekends and evening MR imaging coverage.

The chest radiology service is responsible for the interpretation of chest radiographs of both inpatients and outpatients, patients in the intensive care unit, chest CT examinations, chest MR imaging examinations, and interventional procedures in the thorax. 

Interdisciplinary pulmonary and cardiology conferences are held weekly, and daily conferences are held with intensive care physicians and oncologists. Initially, all work is supervised by the faculty, with a transition to more independent function expected throughout the fellowship. 

Other Relevant Information

Work Load (annual figures)

• Chest radiographs (portable and nonportable)  83,319
• Chest CT 4,150
• Chest MR 126
• Lung biopsies 182
• Pleural drainages 43

Our services are generally coordinated with clinical services, and we interpret the chest radiographs for the intensive care units, internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, thoracic surgery, hematology-oncology and family practice. 

Equipment

Clinical activities are centered in a newly constructed digital reading room, and 2K monitors are used for all interpretations of chest radiographs, CT scans, and MR images.

• Conventional radiography
  • 2 GE Director Radiology (Revolution XQi) units
• Computed radiography
  • 2 Siemens Digiscan; 2 Model 2H, 1 Model 2C
  • 2 Agfa ADC Compacts
• Computed tomography
  • 7 GE scanners, 6 of which are multidetector scanners
  • GE Hi Speed Advantage scanners
• Magnetic resonance
  • 6 MR scanners, including four 1.5T, one 3T and one 1.5T research scanner
• PET
  • A Siemens PET scanner and cyclotron
• Interventional
  • A growing number of percutaneous procedures, including needle biopsy  (lung/mediastinum), pleural drainages, pleurodesis, and tumor ablation are performed under CT, ultrasound, and fluoroscopic  guidance. 

Staffing

One to 2 radiology residents staff the chest radiography service on a rotating basis, and an additional resident is assigned to chest CT/MR/special procedures. Three faculty members staff the reading room in the morning.  In the afternoon, 2 faculty members staff the reading room, and 1 covers cardiac MR imaging.

Faculty

Hollins P. Clark, MD, Section Head
J. Jeffrey Carr, MD, MS
Caroline Chiles, MD, Fellowship Director
Vincent J. D'Souza, MD
Daniel Entrikin, MD
Thomas S. Harle, MD
Kerry M. Link, MD

Application Procedure

We are currently accepting applications for fellowships beginning July 1, 2009. Radiology residents who desire to begin a fellowship immediately following the completion of their residency should apply in the fall of their 3rd year of radiology residency. 

Minimum qualifications for the fellowship include successful completion of a diagnostic radiology residency and the ability to obtain a license to practice medicine in North Carolina. A personal interview is required unless there are exceptional circumstances. We can coordinate interview dates with the other 2 North Carolina thoracic imaging fellowship programs (Duke and UNC). Applications from suitably qualified foreign medical graduates are welcome.

A completed application consists of the following:

• Completed Fellowship Application
• Curriculum vitae
• Personal statement or letter of interest explaining career choices and goals
• Letter of recommendation from radiology residency program director
• Dean's letter from medical school
• Two additional letters of recommendation
• Photograph (optional, for identification)
• ECFMG certification (foreign medical graduates only)

Completed applications, letters of recommendation, and supporting documents should be addressed to Dr. Caroline Chiles. Requests for application materials and inquiries concerning interview arrangements, the receipt of materials, and administrative details of the application process should be addressed to Ms. Cordial at kcordial@wfubmc.edu.