Diagnostic Radiology Residency

Residency Program Director's Welcome

Thank you for your interest in the University of Kentucky! Our ACGME-accredited Diagnostic Radiology Residency Training Program will be offering eight PGY-2 positions in the 2025 NRMP Match for the July 1, 2026 appointment year.

This is a very exciting time at the University of Kentucky. As you will see if you browse around the UK HealthCare webpages, UK is in the midst of a sustained rapid expansion. Our department is also continuing to grow and flourish during this time. UK College of Medicine Radiology leads the region in providing state-of-the-art imaging techniques in all modalities and minimally invasive procedures. As patient care needs grow, so do our educational opportunities, including multiple fellowship training opportunities, research positions, and more. Our department supports more than 70 subspecialty faculty members.

Preparing Diagnostic Radiologists to Succeed in Their Future Professional Careers

With all the growth in technology and clinical volume, we continue to focus on the cornerstone of our core educational mission, to train and prepare diagnostic radiologists to succeed in their future professional careers. We do so by involving residents in every facet of patient care. On typical rotations, residents enjoy one-on-one teaching with faculty.  

Our educational opportunities outside of the reading room also abound. On average, our residents receive at least one educational conference a day.  Conferences range from traditional didactic lectures to interactive workshops and competitive games. Residents also benefit from teaching each other by leading journal clubs and M&M as well as presenting a formal didactic lecture. Many divisions also provide weekly teaching conferences in a smaller group setting. In addition to our own diverse faculty, we have an active Bluegrass Visiting Professorship, which attracts world renown radiologists from other institutions to share their cutting-edge research and prepare our third-year residents for the ABR Core Exam.

Balancing Clinical Expectations and Independent Study

In our program, we strive to maintain the right balance between clinical expectations and time for independent study. Our emergency radiology and vascular/interventional rotations are the only evening hours responsibilities for the residents. The ER rotation is an in-house night-float model, while VIR is at home pager call. Residents also have dedicated research and elective time during residency that can be used to dedicate more time to a project or explore an area of interest more deeply.

Multiple Opportunities to Pursue Radiology

At UK there are multiple opportunities to pursue your passion in radiology either during your residency, as part of an early specialization pathway, or after residency, through a dedicated fellowship. Residents can choose to pursue either the 16-Month Pathway to Dual Certification in Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Radiology or the Early Specialization in Interventional Radiology (ESIR) pathway.  For those looking to specialize after residency, we offer fellowships in abdominal radiology, cardiovascular and thoracic radiology, emergency radiology, musculoskeletal radiology, neuroradiology, and women's radiology. Additionally, our interventional radiology division also offers a one or two-year independent interventional radiology residency.

Wellness

While radiology education is the center of our focus, we also recognize that personal and social growth contribute to and foster professional growth.  Our Resident Wellness Committee was established in 2018 to help foster these areas and has proven a major success. The resident-led committee has organized an intramural volleyball team, bowling nights, dinner in downtown Lexington, and a cookout at a local park. All residents are welcome to attend and bring their significant others, furry friends and/or children!  In addition to the wellness committee, we also provide support outside of work through our resident wellness fund and our newly established Women’s Radiology Group.

We believe we have a lot to offer!  We thank you for your interest in the University of Kentucky and we hope you will consider joining our training program!

James T. Lee, MD
Associate Professor of Radiology
Program Director, Diagnostic Radiology Residency