Vascular and Interventional Radiology Fellowship
Albany Medical College currently offers three positions in an ACGME-accredited 1-year fellowship in Vascular and Interventional Radiology (VIR). The majority of the fellowship year is spent as an active participant in clinical activities relating to VIR at both the Albany Medical Center and VA Hospital. At these centers, the VIR division has preserved its role as the primary providers of endovascular and non-vascular catheter based procedures. Therefore, VIR fellows are exposed to the full gamut of vascular and nonvascular procedures including the following:
- Angioplasty and Stent Placement (arterial and venous)
- Aortic and Peripheral Stent-Grafts
- Transcatheter Embolization Uterine Fibroid Embolization
- Chemoembolization
- AVM Embolization
- Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filter Placement
- Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunts (TIPS)
- Venous Access Device Placement
- Dialysis Access Management
- Foreign Body Retrieval
- Nephrostomy tube and nephroureteral stent placement
- Biliary drainage procedures
- Gastrostomy and gastrojejunostomy tube placement
- Percutaneous abscess drainage
- Vertebroplasty
- Fallopian tube recanalization
It is our goal that our fellows acquire both the skills required to participate in the procedures traditionally performed by interventional radiologists and the comprehensive clinical knowledge required to manage patients before, during, and after these procedures.
To supplement the experience gained on the VIR service, fellows rotate for 1 month on the Vascular Surgery service in order to gain an understanding of the pathway a patient with vascular disease follows both before and after they pass through the VIR service. During this rotation, fellows participate in the surgery clinic, the non-vascular diagnostic laboratory, the operating room, and the inpatient vascular surgery service.
The clinical training program is also supplemented by several conferences given on a regular basis throughout the year. During the first two months of the year, a series of orientation lectures are provided which include topics such as contrast material, suturing technique, and conscious sedation as well as brief reviews of our most commonly performed procedures such as peripheral angiography, angioplasty and stent placement, and venous access device placement. Following the orientation period, the weekly lecture series continues for both fellows and radiology residents, covering the broad scope of practice of interventional radiology. Another weekly conference for the VIR fellows is the weekly VIR conference, during which time fellows present interesting cases which prompt discussions among the fellows and attending staff regarding technique, results, and potential complications of a variety of our procedures. Once a month, this conference serves as our division's mortality and morbidity conference. Additional conferences include a quarterly journal club and a quarterly angio club, where interesting cases are discussed among interventional radiologists practicing in this geographic region. Fellows also participate in the weekly conference of the Vascular Institute, which serves as the primary teaching conference for the Vascular Surgery fellows, residents, and students. During this conference, topics are rotated on a monthly basis with the conferences during that month covering the surgical perspective on that particular topic, the radiology perspective on that topic, and interesting cases pertaining to that topic.
The teaching responsibilities of the VIR fellows are inherent to the day-to-day responsibilities of this position. Fellows provide practical teaching and guidance to radiology residents and students as they participate in the pre-procedure and post-procedure evaluations of our patients. As they gain experience, VIR fellows are also expected to discuss technical aspects of a procedure when a resident or student is participating in a procedure as a second assistant. Once a month, each fellow participates in the vascular institute weekly conference. This typically requires the VIR fellow to gather 3-4 cases regarding a particular topic and to present these cases to an audience of medical students and residents on the Vascular Surgery service as well as the attendings from both surgery and radiology. Finally, VIR fellows are asked to provide one board review session for the senior radiology residents.
There are two schedules for on-call/ emergency procedures. The first schedule covers Friday-Sunday. The rotating radiology resident covers call one weekend per month. The VIR fellows cover the remaining 40 weeks on a rotating basis. The VIR fellows and the radiology resident cover the Monday-Thursday schedule on a rotating basis as well. The VIR fellows and radiology residents constitute "first call" since they are typically contacted directly by physicians requesting the performance of an interventional procedure. All on-call and emergency procedures are performed under the supervision of a member of the VIR attending staff.
All fellows are given the opportunity to participate in research projects that are ongoing within the division of VIR. However, the duration of this training program often makes it difficult for fellows to focus on both their clinical responsibilities and a complicated research project. We therefore encourage our fellows to participate in retrospective studies, prepare subject reviews suitable for publication, or contribute case reports to the SCVIR Case Club, which is an internet based forum for discussing interesting and difficult cases. In addition, fellows participate actively in several ongoing industry-sponsored device trials.
VIR fellows are able to attend one scientific meeting during the fellowship year, with all expenses paid by the VIR division or by an external research grant. Traditionally, one fellow attends the annual meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology and one attends the annual Miami Vascular meeting. However, trainees can request to attend a different meeting. Opportunities are available for trainees to attend additional meetings, at the division's expense, if the results of research projects will be presented.
In order to apply for a position in this fellowship, we ask that you submit the following materials in lieu of a formal application:
- Curriculum Vitae (which includes your telephone number and e-mail address).
- Personal Statement or Letter of Intent/Interests/Goals]
- Three (3) Letters of Recommendation
All application materials can be sent to the following address:
Gary Siskin, MD
Vascular & Interventional Radiology Fellowship
Institute for Vascular Health & Disease, MC-157
Albany Medical College
47 New Scotland Avenue
Albany, NY 12208
Phone: (518) 262-5149
Fax: (518) 262-6773
e-mail: sisking@mail.amc.edu
