Find information on the Musculoskeletal Imaging Fellowship in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences at IU School of Medicine.

Musculoskeletal Imaging Fellowship

The Musculoskeletal Imaging fellowship at IU School of Medicine is a one-year, non-ACGME-accredited program. This training program focuses on musculoskeletal MRI but also provides excellent exposure to musculoskeletal radiography, CT, ultrasound, arthrography/injections, image-guided-bone and soft-tissue biopsy. The department and affiliated clinical sites have state-of-the-art equipment and strong collaborative working relationships with the departments of orthopedic surgery and rheumatology, offering fellows in this program excellent exposure to clinical care in a range of areas, including orthopedic trauma from two level 1 trauma centers, sports medicine, joint replacement, arthritis, and orthopedic oncology service. Musculoskeletal fellows are encouraged to participate in all aspects of the team’s clinical and academic work. Musculoskeletal faculty are all members of the Society of Skeletal Radiology.

Education Training

The musculoskeletal radiology fellows are part of the teaching faculty and are responsible for the musculoskeletal component for the IU School of Medicine Diagnostic Radiology Residency Program. This involvement offers fellows an excellent opportunity to gain teaching experience. The musculoskeletal radiology team trains three to four diagnostic radiology residents rotating each month on the musculoskeletal service. In addition, the musculoskeletal imaging team is responsible for the one-month radiology rotation for residents in orthopedic surgery and physical medicine and rehabilitation. The musculoskeletal fellows present the imaging at the multidisciplinary rheumatology case conferences.

Research Experience

The musculoskeletal radiology program supports the strong emphasis on joint replacement in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. Excellent sports medicine exposure is achieved through outreach programs and affiliation with the National Institute of Fitness and Sport. Musculoskeletal imaging fellows must complete at least one research project during their fellowship year. They are required to present their research projects at the department’s annual Campbell-Klatte conference in the spring.

Clinical Care

The musculoskeletal team in the IU School of Medicine Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences provides services for two Level-1 trauma centers, a cancer center, a county hospital, two outpatient orthopedic sports centers, academic medical centers, and community health centers. The section interprets musculoskeletal MRI, radiography, CT and ultrasound and performs arthrography, joint injections and image-guided bone and soft-tissue biopsies. Regular multidisciplinary conferences are held in musculoskeletal oncology (weekly), rheumatology (twice monthly) and sports medicine/arthroscopy (monthly).

Program Requirements

Fellows are required to complete 13 four-week rotations and must complete required training modules on topics such as sleep deprivation, teaching and coding/documentation. Fellows must complete one research project during their year and participate in quality improvement projects related to the musculoskeletal section of the department. Fellows are evaluated by faculty, and they in turn evaluate the faculty and the program. Fellow procedure and case volumes are tracked, and they are required to keep and comply with duty hours. Fellows are required to be members-in-training of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) and American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS), and they must present imaging at the multidisciplinary case conferences and to present journal club.

Facilities and Equipment

The musculoskeletal imaging service is based at IU Health Methodist Hospital, and remote coverage occurs at other downtown and community IU Health facilities as well as at Eskenazi Hospital and three private community orthopedic MRI sites. Equipment available to musculoskeletal fellows includes 19 clinical MRI scanners, a 3.0 Tesla research MRI scanner, 15 multichannel CT scanners, four DEXA scanners, two PET scanners and a small parts PET research scanner. All projection radiography studies are performed digitally with the majority using direct radiography. Access to an orthopedic oncology service and referral center also provides fellows with exposure to tumor imaging.

Curriculum

Musculoskeletal fellows spend most of their 13 four-week blocks on the musculoskeletal service at IU Health Methodist Hospital and have opportunity to do elective rotations. Fellows alternate between the musculoskeletal procedure/diagnostic team (which focuses on procedure cases and diagnostics from inpatient, outpatient and emergency IU Health facilities) and a diagnostic team (that focuses on outpatient MRI and radiography). Fellows have a weekly didactic curriculum that focuses on musculoskeletal MRI teaching; they also participate in journal club, read key core selected literature articles, and complete required learning modules.

Call Responsibilities

Musculoskeletal fellows are required to complete in-house evening and weekend radiology call for the department. This primarily involves final interpretation of emergent and inpatient radiography, CT and ultrasound diagnostic imaging. The call hours vary year to year but are split among the radiology faculty and fellows in the call pool and typically total between 130 and 170 hours per academic year.

program director

Adam J. Gehrt, DO

Assistant Professor of Clinical Radiology & Imaging Sciences

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