The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) pediatric radiology fellowship is at Children’s Nebraska in Omaha, NE. Children's is the only full-service pediatric health care center in Nebraska, providing expertise in more than 50 pediatric specialty services to children across a 5 state region and beyond. Children's is home to Nebraska’s only Level IV regional Newborn Intensive Care Unit and the state’s only Level II Pediatric Trauma Center. Children’s is recognized as a Best Children’s Hospital by US News and World Report in the following pediatric specialties: Cardiology and Heart Surgery, Pulmonology, Gastroenterology and GI surgery and Urology.
In 2021, Children's completed a 385 million dollar expansion, with the Hubbard Center for Children doubling hospital capacity. The radiology footprint was expanded, and new imaging equipment added.
The radiology teaching staff includes 9 subspecialty trained and board certified pediatric radiologists. Teaching staff includes: Mary Kay Drake, MD, Program Director; Sandra Allbery, MD; Angela Beavers, MD; Travis Kruse, MD; Terri Love, MD; Andria Powers, MD; Peter Winningham, MD; Lisa Wheelock, MD and Lincoln Wong, MD. All radiology studios performed, interpreted, and dictated will be under the direct supervision of staff pediatric radiologists at Omaha Children’s.
The Pediatric Radiology Fellowship Program is one-year in length. Prerequisites: requirements for this program include fulfilling a United States Radiology Residency and Board Certification by the American Board of Radiology or Board Eligible. The Pediatric Radiology Fellowship Program was approved for continued accreditation by the ACGME until 2018 following the program site review of November 2008.
Training of the Fellow takes place primarily at Children's, and the University of Nebraska Medical Center for two weeks to develop Interventional Radiology skills if necessary.
Educational Program – Basic Curriculum
- Clinical and Research Components
- The Fellow will be able to demonstrate competency performing, interpreting and dictating all pediatric radiology procedures with all modalities, including CT, MRI, ultrasound, fluoroscopy, nuclear medicine, and plain radiography.
- The Fellow will discuss ideas for research project with fellowship director during the 1st month of the fellowship; begin performing the research and collecting data the second month of the fellowship; submit abstract for paper and poster to Society for Pediatric Radiology Annual meeting (or other national radiology conference). Abstract deadline is approximately October (fourth month) of the fellowship for the Society for Pediatric Radiology meeting. Complete paper and/or poster of project by March (ninth month) of the fellowship year.
- Participant's supervisory and patient care responsibilities
- The Fellow will work with Radiologist residents, Pediatric residents and medical students in the Radiology Department.
- The Fellow will provide safe patient care in radiology through describing protocols in radiology for patient safety; describing Children's policy for surgical site identification; describing Children's policy for patient identification; and describing Children’s radiology policy for screening for pregnancy prior to radiation exams.
- Procedural requirements
- List 200 performed, interpreted, and dictated body imaging CT/MRI exams; including imaging chest, abdomen, pelvis, musculoskeletal, cardiac, MR angiography, CT angiography.
- List 200 performed, interpreted, and dictated neuroradiology CT/MRI exams, including imaging of brain, spine, neck, temporal bone, CSF flow dynamic, and SPECT studies.
- List 300 performed, interpreted, and dictated Ultrasound exams; including the ability to real time scan patient with knowledge of the controls on the ultrasound equipment; imaging of the head, neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, musculoskeletal (including dynamic and static hip ultrasound), and bowel (including identifying an intussusception and appendicitis by ultrasound).
- List 300 performed, interpreted, and dictated Fluoroscopy exams; including competency diagnosing malrotation, upper GI, small bowel series, VCUG, esophagram, barium and hypaque enemas, and deglutition studies.
- List 50 performed, interpreted, and dictated Nuclear Medicine exams; including competency in MAG3/DTPA renal scans, DMSA scans, gastric emptying, thyroid imaging, bone scans, Meckel’s scans, gallium scans.
- List 25 performed, interpreted, and dictated vascular/interventional studies, including PICC line placement, percutaneous biopsy and drainage, lumbar puncture, intussusception reduction, and nasojejunal tube placement. Intussusception reduction rate should be a minimum of 50%. Nasojejunal tube successful tube placement rate should be a minimum of 90%. More advanced interventional skills may require an additional pediatric interventional radiology fellowship.
- List minimum 7000 total pediatric radiologic examinations per year, including all modalities.
- List minimum of 35 per worked day interpreted and dictated Plain Radiography exams; including knowledge of when films should be repeated (i.e. ICU patient’s lungs look more opaque, but it is due to atelectasis and expiratory film; pre-vertebral soft tissues look thick, but it is due to incomplete neck extension and incomplete inspiration). The Fellow submits to program director quarterly log book of above cases.
- Didactic Components
- The Fellow is taught through the use of lecture series, assigned readings, working with staff one-on-one, and teaching with residents and medical students.
- Program is only twelve months in duration.
Evaluation
On the first day of every quarter, starting at the conclusion of three (3) months of the fellowship, the fellow will turn in the following documentation to the program director for signature and review:
1. Evaluation forms for all staff; anonymously submitted with resident evaluations.
2. Evaluation form for the rotation; anonymously submitted with resident evaluations.
3. Signed quarterly evaluation from program director, after conference with program director.
4. At the end of the 4th quarter, signed final fellow summary written by the program director and reviewed between fellow and program director.