Mission | To develop and sustain relationships with international IR societies, particularly at the resident/fellow level.
Interviews with young foreign interventional radiologists
While the US has an ACGME accredited DR/IR program, have you ever thought of what training is like abroad? The specialty is shifting towards a clinical paradigm here in the US, but is the same happening elsewhere? Click the links below to read our interviews with foreign trainees and young IRs about their perspective on training and the standing of the specialty in their country.
Luka Novosel (Croatia), 2017
Francesco Giurazza (Italy), 2017
Liang Ge, Jian Lu, and Chu-Hui Zeng (China), 2017
Katushiro Kobayashi (Japan), 2017
IR in India, 2020
The SIR International Scholars Program supports travel to the SIR Annual Meeting for international radiologists interested in IR. The program is currently on hiatus due to COVID-19. Please keep an eye out for any future updates on the SIR Website here. You can learn more about the benefits and opportunities of this program from previous scholars from Spain, Ghana and Portugal.
Mission | To educate and provide resources for international students/residents/fellows interested in IR training in the U.S. | To increase awareness among U.S. trainees of different training paradigms abroad.
Guide for Matching as an International Medical Graduate (IMG)
Many of us within the International Outreach Committee went through medical school abroad and then decided to pursue training within the United States. We understand how long, time-consuming, and expensive this process can be and how equally time consuming it can be to find quality information, tips, and advice online. We have created the following guide (divided in major topics) in an effort to make this process easier, explaining things we wish we would have known early on. (Last updated 8/7/18)
- The American Training Model
- Past, Current, and Future IR Training Models
- The Pathway to Match as a Foreigner*
- USMLE Steps
- The ECFMG
- Visas
- The Match
*An exciting new opportunity has been recently approved by the American Board of Radiology (ABR) for IMGs who have received Interventional Radiology training abroad and wish to pursue a career in IR in the United States. Similar to the alternate pathway for diagnostic radiology, this opportunity calls for an individual to spend 5 years at a participating institution as a trainee and/or junior faculty to receive accreditation. Full details can be found HERE.
Want to learn the tips and tricks of the residency/fellowship match from an IMG perspective? Watch these webinars to learn more!
Interested in a U.S.-based IR observership experience? Download our IR Observership Database (PDF) HERE.
Interviews with resident and attending international medical graduates (IMGs)
The journey to match into radiology is complex and challenging, so we conducted interviews with current IMG radiology residents to learn from those who have successfully navigated this process.
Gloria Salazar (MGH), 2017
Jesus Beltran-Perez (UT San Antonio), 2017
Monica Uceda (Presence Health St. Francis Hospital), 2018
Ayah Megahed (Yale), 2020
Fabian M. Laage Gaupp (Yale), 2020
Resources for Publishing & Getting Abstracts Accepted to SIR for IMGs
The Search for Research – An IMG’s Guide to IR Research Experience
Abstract Preparation and How to Write a Good Abstract
How to Get Your Paper Published in JVIR
How to Get Your Paper Published in a Peer-Reviewed Radiologic Journal (Webinar)
Intro to IR Periodicals (Webinar)
Mission | To provide guidance and resources for students/residents/fellows interested in international IR service work. | To maintain relationships with similar U.S.-based radiology/IR organizations (ie, RAD-AID).
The SIR and RAD-AID have a formal partnership to help improve access to interventional services in low resource settings through education, training and other outreach efforts. The RFS International Outreach Committee works with RAD-AID under this partnership to help involve students, residents and fellows in these endeavors. Learn more about RAD-AID’s IR program HERE.

© RAD-AID Intl
To learn more about the state of Global Health IR and to get some insight into the kinds of projects RFS members are participating in, check out this Interventional Radiology in Global Health webinar!

(Webinar) Interventional Radiology and Global Health: Experiences in Kenya – Dr. Jessie Stewart, MD (2/28/19)
Want to learn more about how to fund an IR service trip abroad? Check out our Strategies for Obtaining Funding for IR Service Abroad (PDF)!
Global Health IR Electives
Interested in starting a Global Health Radiology IR elective at your residency
program? Watch our International Electives for IR Training Pathways webinar as RAD-AID’s Melissa Culp shares with us her own insights and experiences on this topic. Download a PDF of Ms. Culp’s slides HERE.
Last updated 11/22/20