Newly created radiology residency program receives 750 applications for 7 slots
A Pennsylvania residency program is attempting to address the radiologist shortage at the local level and is experiencing strong interest in its efforts.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based St. Luke's University Health Network recently launched the Lehigh Valley’s only accredited radiology residency program. The 15-hospital nonprofit has seen booming demand for imaging and needed to take action to secure the necessary workforce.
For the first class that started in July, St. Luke’s received 750 applications, interviewing 82 individuals before settling on the final seven.
“A massive shortage of radiologists is looming,” Robert Fournier, MD, vice chair of St. Luke's Department of Radiology, said in a news item shared by the health system on May 13. “We're not going to fix the national problem, but we're going to fix it here in the Lehigh Valley. We went big. Developing residencies with seven slots was a large lift. Our network does more than 1 million exams per year. That's a large number, and you need a radiologist who specializes in a particular area to read the images.”
Fournier noted that about four radiology positions exist for every radiology resident in the U.S. On top of that, 56% of radiologists are 55 or older and nearing retirement. Technological advances and an aging population are only exacerbating the deficit.
Once it’s fully operational, the program is expected to enroll 28 students. St. Luke’s has made a sizable investment in the effort, leaders noted. It’s allowing faculty members to take time away from reading images to create lectures and case studies. And the network has spent over $25,000 apiece on standard workstations and $80,000 each in mammography. It also has converted a former emergency room for the radiology program, which will eventually relocate to a dedicated educational space.
Residencies will include a four-year diagnostic program, providing trainees with skills needed to become successful radiologists. The DR side will accept six applicants annually, while the seventh slot is for a five-year integrated interventional and diagnostic radiology program. Such specialists will train alongside DR residents for three years followed by two more performing interventional procedures.
St. Luke’s first applied for certification from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in September 2022. It based the decision around both health system and community needs and is considering adding an ophthalmology residency to address a local shortage of eye doctors.
Along with addressing staffing shortages, the organization hopes the program will provide purpose to its physicians.
“A residency invigorates radiologists. Sitting next to a bright resident and having them pick your brain daily makes you a better radiologist. It keeps you on top of your game. In turn, working with experienced radiologists benefits residents,” Fournier said.
Read the rest of the St. Luke’s news story here and find previous coverage of the radiologist shortage at the links below.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.