"Being hands-on in education and being an active member of the medical/clinical community at both the local hospital and national level were lessons instilled in me as Penn Radiology resident..."
Where are you from?
By way of background, I grew up in sunny Southern California and went to undergrad at UCLA before moving to the East Coast and attending Yale University for medical school. There, I met my future husband and we decided to do the couple’s match after getting engaged: I applied to radiology and he applied to pediatrics. Due to the couple’s match and competitive nature of radiology, it was necessary to apply very broadly, and so we interviewed all over the West Coast, East Coast and Midwest. But after dozens of interviews at all similarly elite programs around the country, none gave me a gut feeling like Penn Radiology, and by a very fortuitous match I was lucky enough become a resident there.
What did you do after graduation?
After graduation, I pursued fellowship in interventional radiology and breast imaging (two fellowships on the opposite ends of the spectrum!). Though few people had done those two fellowships together, I received the full support of the faculty.
Afterwards, I took an academic position at the University of Louisville where my husband, who became extremely subspecialized within his field, was able to get a position as well. There, I served as the clinical clerkship director for the medical student radiology elective, was a member of the medical student admissions committee, radiology residency admissions committee, headed the radiology medical student interest group, served as an exam developer on the American Board of Radiology’s General Certifying Committee, and did multi-disciplinary teaching and research in conjunction with the emergency, oncology, and critical care departments.
Being hands-on in education and being an active member of the medical/clinical community at both the local hospital and national level were lessons instilled in me as a Penn Radiology resident so that I was never just a nameless, faceless person doing procedures or behind a computer screen--- and I directly attribute the recognition as Faculty Educator of the Year and the University of Louisville’s Outstanding Physician Award (first ever awarded to a radiologist!) to these practices.
Why should an applicant choose Penn Radiology?
Penn Radiology offers a world-class radiology education in a close-knit setting that can be absolutely tailored to one’s individual interests.
Very early in my residency, I found myself intimidated to walk the hallowed halls of Penn, where I knew famed radiologists had walked--- and were still walking--- innovating and leading in radiology education, research, the science of imaging and so on… it amazed me that individuals who had developed F-18 for PET-CT, transarterial chemoembolization, fetal ultrasound, breast MRI and tomosynthesis were all there and ready to teach… me! However, beyond the amazing educational and clinical opportunities was the heart of Penn Radiology, which was the amazing individuals who were teaching me and learning alongside me that became my lifelong mentors and friends.
Our program director, Mary Scanlon, was a tireless advocate for anything a resident was interested in. When I expressed an interest in teaching and medical education, she led me to opportunities to teach the Penn medical students in their anatomy lab, teach the RA300 radiology medical student elective, redevelop the medical student educational materials, attend RSNA and American College of Radiology Faculty Development education workshops, and pursue the Valerie P. Jackson Education Fellowship during residency.
When these educational pursuits bridged an interest in radiology education in resource-poor settings, the idea of radiology and global health became a reality and I was able to do radiology education in Gaborone, Botswana and Nairobi, Kenya, teaching basic neuroradiology, chest and body imaging tailored to radiologic manifestations of locally prevalent diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. I am proud to say that this germinated into the country’s first Global Health Radiology Leadership Track, which is just one of several programs that were developed during my residency as a direct result of resident interest and engagement.
Indeed, during my time at Penn, fourth-year mini-fellowships were instituted in response to the changing demands of radiology practices, the Healthcare Leadership in Quality Track was formally developed out of increasing resident engagement in radiology quality and safety conferences, the Imaging Informatics Fellowship was developed by my co-resident turned fellow and attending who understood the critical role of a radiologist in understanding and managing informatics, and the Penn Image-Guided Interventions (PIGI) Lab was cooked-up - literally - by my classmates during our 7:30am didactic conferences and built up into the research and publication behemoth that it is today.
Perhaps what I am most proud of is that all of these individuals--- Mary Scanlon who opened doors for me in radiology education, Chara Rydzak who was the first formal Global Health Fellow, Alex Ruutiainen who spearheads quality and safety and the radiology department at the VA, Tessa Cook who is the informatics Fellowship Director, and Stephen Hunt and Terence Gade who head up the PIGI Lab--- are all still my mentors and friends that I regularly text, email and send baby announcements and Christmas cards to every single year. I know that no matter what happens to me, whether I have a tough clinical case, a patient conundrum, a new educational idea, or even have a personal hardship, I can always turn to these amazing individuals whom I got to know at Penn.
And perhaps that is the strongest argument for Penn Radiology: that at the end of the day, you will always know the people who mentored you and learned with you during your residency will always---always--- be your tribe.
What is your favorite memory from residency?
So, so many! To name a few:
I remember my first day of orientation when Mary put up a slide of a feral animal (I think it was a roaring lion?) and likened herself to that animal, telling us that she was there to protect us as residents and protect the education and time that we spent in residency. It definitely set the tone - she was there to champion us, we could trust her, and we could be confident that she would be there to advocate on our behalf and spearhead our interests.
A few weeks into my residency, I spent a day rotating with Mary and I kept addressing her as “Dr. Scanlon”… I just figured being formal and respectful was the safest way to go. In the middle of a case, she literally stopped me and told me that she was serious about us calling her by her first name and that I should stop and just call her Mary. And that just set the tone for the rest of our relationship.
Teaching radiology in Botswana and Nairobi during my chief resident year was incredible… I remember diagnosing a subarachnoid hemorrhage for the clinical team during morning rounds, visiting the TB wards, exchanging stories with radiology residents at the local university hospital, camping outdoors on ancient Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, seeing a white rhino in person, and climbing to the first base camp on Mt. Kilimanjaro… unreal.
Describe anything else unique about your Penn Radiology training
The Penn Radiology Residency is a very special program… and you’ll never regret making Penn Medicine and Philadelphia your home. This is the place to where you’ll find your wings to soar and be successful in any iteration of radiology you want to make your niche in, but also the place where you’ll always, always have a lifelong community to reconnect to and call home.