The McMaster University Diagnostic Radiology Program is designed to produce strong clinical radiologists, who can perform, supervise and interpret a wide variety of imaging tests and procedures. The program fosters the development of general radiology skills as well as strong consultative skills. We strive to produce radiologists who will be lifelong learners, able to respond to the increasing demands of our exciting, rapidly expanding medical specialty. The program is designed to meet the specifications of the Royal College as well as address the Canadian Medical Education Directives for Specialists, commonly referred to as CanMEDS.

The residency training sites include Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), consisting of the McMaster University Medical Centre, Juravinski Hospital, Hamilton General Hospital and the Juravinski Cancer Centre, as well as St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (SJHH). The Hamilton hospitals are a tertiary referral site for the Central West region of Ontario, providing specialized healthcare services to a catchment population of over 2.2 million. The health system in Hamilton is organized such that each hospital has specialty expertise. There are strong Internal Medicine and General Surgery programs and subspecialty services, which support a busy tertiary level imaging practice. The HHS is amongst Canada’s largest teaching hospitals.

Our residency program at McMaster is designed to take advantage of this system of health organization. Rotations are selected based on the patient population, volume of pathology and radiology faculty teaching strengths, rather than purely hospital-based. This permits flexibility in our program design – all residents are exposed to almost the identical rotation design. McMaster’s large patient population and organized local healthcare structure ensures that residents are adequately exposed to a wealth of imaging pathology and faculty expertise.

The diagnostic imaging services in the McMaster system set an excellent standard. There are 7 MRI scanners currently in operation at the McMaster, St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Juravinski and Hamilton General sites. With redevelopment at several sites, further investment of new equipment is anticipated.

In addition, there is a dedicated 3.0 T research magnet at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton. There are 8 CT scanners in the city. The busy ultrasound departments at each site are equipped with high-resolution ultrasound equipment. All sites have PACS and voice-recognition software, ensuring that residents are trained for the future, in a filmless, digital environment. There is an active clinical PET scanning service at the McMaster University Medical Centre site, as well as an additional PET scanner at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton.

The Residency Program Committee meets approximately 6 times in the year, and is actively involved in reviewing the residency program at McMaster. The Committee consists of faculty coordinators from each training site, the Program Director, Chief Residents, as well as an elected junior resident representative. At each meeting, the resident members provide a “Resident Report”, updating the committee members regarding current issues for the resident group. The committee reviews all issues related to the residency including: rotations and curriculum; resident progress; methods of evaluation; work and on-call issues; site-related issues relevant to training and any other Departmental or University issues impacting residency training. Any major changes in the program or process of program function are reviewed and discussed at the committee level. The faculty members who sit on this committee play a key role as educational liaison persons for their hospital site. In addition, the site coordinators are in regular contact with the resident body and Chief Residents, with respect to any training issues or concerns, specific to their site. Committee members also play a pivotal role in the selection of new candidates for the program. The 4 resident committee members are active and respected members of the group, with resident feedback and suggestions given careful consideration by the other committee members.

• Dr. Yoan Kagoma – Program Director
• Dr. Natasha Larocque – Associate Program Director (CBME Lead)
• Dr. Karen Finlay – Department Education Coordinator/Chief of Radiology
• Dr. Milita Ramonas – Juravinski Hospital
• Dr. Thomas Mammen – Hamilton General Hospital
• Dr. Euan Stubbs – St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
• Dr. Ali Yikilmaz – McMaster Children’s Hospital
• Dr. Scott Caterine – Chief Resident
• Dr. Brian Wang – Chief Resident
• Dr. Jason Yao – Elected Resident Representative
• Dr. Vineeth Bhogadi – Elected Resident Representative
• Dr. Steffan Frosi Stella – Research Coordinator

The competency committee (CC) meets approximately 4 times per year. The committee consists of the CBD lead who serves as the CC chair, the radiology program director, and five faculty members. The CC makes decisions and recommendations using highly integrative data from multiple EPA and milestone observations, as well as feedback from clinical practice. A CC allows for an informed group decision-making process where patterns of performance can be collated to reveal a broad picture of a resident’s progression toward competence.

• Dr. Natasha Larocque – Committee Chair
• Dr. Tom Mammen
• Dr. Amna Al-Arnawoot
• Dr. Nanxi Zha
• Dr. Ali Yikilmaz
• Dr. Patrick Kennedy