Essentials
- Interventional Radiology Medical Student Elective
- Department of Radiology at Albany Medical Center
- Preceptors: Gary Siskin, MD, Christopher Stark, MD
- Contact: Rachelle Stepnowski: (518) 262-2397; rstepnowski@communitycare.com
- Students Per Block: 2
- Duration: 2 or 4 weeks (only 4-week electives available for the first four blocks of the academic year)
Overview
Welcome to interventional radiology (IR) at Albany Medical Center. Interventional radiology is a subspecialty that uses image guidance to perform minimally invasive procedures. The Albany Medical Center IR medical student elective is designed to provide students with an opportunity to become immersed into this diverse and exciting subspecialty. Our department performs more than 150 procedures per week with wide ranging complexity. Students will be exposed to virtually all aspects of IR including oncologic interventions, biliary and urinary tract interventions, portal hypertension management (TIPS, BRTO), uterine fibroid embolization, spine interventions, peripheral vascular disease, pulmonary embolism and deep venous thrombosis interventions, trauma and GI bleeding embolizations, biopsies, drainages, as well as venous access procedures.
As a clinical service, our expectation is that students participating in the IR elective will move beyond observation and be actively engaged in direct patient care. All procedures performed in our department begin with a consultation by one of our physicians or nurse practitioners. Consultations include a focused history and physical exam, communication with the primary service (if not IR), consenting for procedures, and post-procedure follow-up. Students will be an integral part of these consultations and will be an active participant in daily morning rounds. We encourage students to scrub into procedures of any level of complexity, particularly on those patients they saw prior to the procedure. Indications and contraindications, anatomy, general technique, and expected outcomes of a given procedure should be studied by students prior to entry into the interventional suite. Educational resources and reading recommendations are available on the Albany IR and Albany Medical Center websites (link). Hands on training in the Patient Safety and Clinical Competency Center (PSCCC) will also be incorporated into the elective and will be used to teach vascular access technique.
The Albany Medical Center IR medical student elective is tailored for the MS4 student who plans on a career in interventional radiology or diagnostic radiology. Students pursuing careers in specialties that commonly interact with interventional radiology, such as surgery, oncology, urology, nephrology, critical care, gastroenterology, and hepatology, will also benefit from the elective. Elective applications are arranged in the spring of the MS3 year through Web Advisor and will be approved on an individual basis by a physician member of the AMC IR service. Only 4-week electives will be offered for the first four blocks of the academic year with scheduling preference afforded to those students planning a career in IR. Two and 4-week electives will be available for the remainder of the blocks in the academic year. We strongly recommend visiting the IR suites to meet our team at any time prior to application. We look forward to meeting you and introducing you to the exciting and innovative field of interventional radiology.