UW Radiology

Diversity Visiting Student Program

UW Radiology Diversity Visiting Student Program

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The Diversity Visiting Student Program is a funded initiative designed to give students from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to experience the outstanding training that is available in the Department of Radiology at the University of Washington and to experience life in Seattle, a thriving, dynamic, beautiful city with mild, dry, sunny summers.

Our clinical sites in Seattle serve a diverse group of patients in a five-state region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) that encompasses 27% of the landmass of the United States. We care for a substantial population of urban and rural underserved patients from a variety of socioeconomic and racial/ethnic backgrounds.

In the Diagnostic Radiology Clerkship, students will spend four weeks rotating through up to four services (such as Body Imaging, Chest Imaging, Emergency Radiology, Gastrointestinal and Genitourinary Fluoroscopy, Musculoskeletal Imaging, Neuroradiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Pediatric Radiology) at three of the five major teaching institutions that the encompass the department’s activities: UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. This will give the visiting student multiple options for experiencing how we care for a wide variety of patients in the nationally-recognized tertiary care centers that we service.

If space is available, students may opt instead for a single four-week rotation in Interventional Radiology at UW Medical Center and/or Harborview Medical Center.

Students will participate in the daily clinical services on site and will also have the opportunity to attend resident teaching sessions and conferences and, for the Diagnostic Radiology Clerkship, didactics specifically geared for medical students.

WHO SHOULD APPLY
Competitive applicants for the Department of Radiology Visiting Student Internship Diversity Program will have demonstrated academic excellence, as well as strong leadership and extracurricular experience, such as involvement in activities that have made an impact on the care of underserved patients.

Applicants should have a background that offers diversity in the health care setting, including one or more of the following criteria:

  1. Economically disadvantaged, defined as individuals who come from a low-income family, using income levels as specified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  2. Socially disadvantaged, defined as students coming from an environment that may inhibit them from obtaining knowledge, skills, or abilities in pursuit of education in a health field. This includes, but is not restricted to, students whose parents did not attend college and/or students being reared by a single or divorced parent.
  3. Member of a group that is recognized as historically underrepresented in the health and science professions, including African-American/Black, Native American/Alaskan Native, Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latino.

Preference will be given to those who will be full-time fourth-year students who plan to apply for a residency in Diagnostic Radiology and are in good standing at an LCME-accredited medical school in the United States, Puerto Rico, or Canada.

PROGRAM GOALS

  • Increase recruitment of students from diverse socioeconomic, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds into the Diagnostic Radiology or Interventional Radiology residency programs at the University of Washington.
  • Introduce life in Seattle and in the Pacific Northwest to students not familiar with the region.
  • Enhance student awareness of opportunities in academic radiology.
  • Provide individualized mentoring and networking opportunities for underrepresented and socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

 

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must be on track to complete all required clerkships through their home medical school prior to beginning this internship. Funded Visiting Student positions will be available during the months of August, September, and October for qualified applicants from backgrounds historically underrepresented and/or who are considered socioeconomically disadvantaged. Funding includes a stipend of up to $2,500 to cover housing and travel costs. At the completion of the clerkship, qualified applicants may be invited to interview with the University of Washington Department of Radiology Residency Program.

DATES

For the 2024-2025 academic year, we are offering this opportunity three times:

July 22-August 16, 2024
August 19-September 13, 2024
September 16-October 11, 2024

HOW TO APPLY
Please submit the following documents:

  • Current Curriculum Vitae, including a list of honors grades in medical school
  • One-page personal statement detailing interest in radiology, interest in the University of Washington, and any prior activities or future plans regarding service to under-served patients
  • If applicable, a short statement describing economic or social disadvantages
  • One letter of recommendation from a clinical faculty member
  • Official medical school transcript
  • USMLE Step 1 score report (high scores are NOT mandatory)
  • USMLE Step 2 score report (optional)
  • Completed application: UW-Rads-Diversity-App

Applications will be reviewed by members of the Department’s Diversity Committee. Applicants not selected for the funded pool may, if interested, be entered to be considered into the general pool of applicants for visiting rotations.

Please submit your application materials and forward any questions to: Kevin Nguyen at nguyenk6@uw.edu.

Thank you for considering our program.

  • Claire Sandstrom, M.D.

    Associate Professor

  • Christine Rehwald, M.D.

    Program Director, Diagnostic Radiology Residency 

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Musculoskeletal Radiology