Didactic resident conferences feature lectures given by faculty members covering the principles of clinical nuclear medicine and diagnostic procedures, nuclear medicine physics and instrumentation, radiochemistry, radiation biology, theranostics, as well as novel developments in the field and updates to the literature. These didactic lectures are intended to both prepare the junior residents for clinical responsibilities and refresh and increase the knowledge of senior residents. Residents are freed up from clinical responsibilities during didactic lectures and clinical conferences.

Our residents also have the opportunity and are encouraged to attend the didactic radiology conferences supported by our outstanding diagnostic radiology residency program held daily at 7:30 am - 9 am.

Residents are actively involved in clinical conferences within the nuclear medicine division, attended by residents, fellows, faculty and researchers. There are biweekly resident run case conferences in which residents present the interesting and rare cases they have seen in the clinic. Our clinical conferences are a great opportunity to share advice and teaching points in a collegial environment and include:

• Clinical Case Follow-up Conference
• PET/CT Case Conference
• Journal Club
• Protocol Review
• Quality Assessment Conference

Residents have the opportunity to attend a multitude of multidisciplinary tumor boards held at The Johns Hopkins Hospital (e.g; lymphoma and neuroendocrine tumor boards), translational research conferences and departmental grand rounds.

Residents usually alternate on one-week rotations to gain experience in the various disciplines of nuclear medicine. Rotations include: Inpatient Nuclear Medicine, Outpatient Nuclear Medicine, PET/CT, Nuclear Cardiology, Therapy (radioiodine and parenteral administration) and Quality Control rotation.

A central goal of clinical training in the nuclear medicine program is to enable the resident to take full responsibility for diagnostic and therapeutic studies performed on his/her service. This involves:

• Assessing the clinical problem to be answered (chart review, personal history and even physical examination)
• Evaluating the potential role of radionuclide procedures on the diagnostic process and ensuring that the patient receives the correct study
• Assessing the technical quality of images and attempting to answer the clinical question as completely as possible before discharging the patient from the Nuclear Medicine Division
• Interpreting the study with the supervision of the faculty

For the first several months, junior residents in the clinic work in tandem with a senior resident and a faculty member under progressively diminishing direct supervision. However, attending faculty members are responsible for supervision based on the experience of the resident and are always available for consultation, questions and discussions. The experienced resident participates in the training of less-experienced residents as well as of medical students and nuclear medicine technologists, discusses results with referring clinicians and has the opportunity to present interesting/challenging cases to colleagues and faculty at clinical conferences.

A quality-control rotation provides experience in the duties of the nuclear medicine technologist, offering the opportunity to learn about radiotracer administration, image acquisition/processing, image quality control and in vitro procedures.

During training, residents are exposed to the type of research that is being conducted by senior faculty, other trainees, graduate students and other members of the Johns Hopkins community in various specialties. Trainees are encouraged to pursue any relevant line of research that excites their interest, and opportunities for collaboration both within and outside the department are vast.

Residents have the opportunity to present their work at national meetings, such as the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) and Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).