Sean Golden

The Johns Hopkins Hospital

The Johns Hopkins Radiology Residency, like most training programs across the country, has been deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In late March, our program temporarily transitioned to a skeleton staffing model, where the majority of residents stayed home and were unable to read studies remotely. Key rotations were delayed or cancelled, and two residents were called upon to staff the ICU. To mitigate the diminished case volumes, faculty and fellows created daily virtual didactic sessions to supplement our regular morning conferences and independent study. Special emphasis was placed on preparing the first-year residents for independent overnight call, which we begin in July of our second year at Hopkins. An innovative online call-prep curriculum was created by our associate program director, where first-years independently reviewed DICOM images of previous overnight studies, submitted an impression to an online dropbox, and then reviewed the pertinent findings with an attending radiologist.

In May and June, COVID-19 numbers in Maryland began to decline, and our program gradually returned to a relative state of normalcy (albeit socially distanced). Now, as numbers in Maryland once again climb, the hospital leadership has asked for another group of volunteers to assist in the ICU and on the floors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for our faculty and residents alike, but it has also highlighted the department’s ability to adapt. Our reading rooms and conferences may look a little different than last year, but our commitment to education, research, and patient care carries on.