MSK Radiology Fellowships in India and Abroad
Which are the various things you can consider while applying for MSK radiology fellowship programmes? The things to look for will vary for each country, but few basic points to look into are:
- Clinical exposure with hands-on work in all modalities viz MSK ultrasonography, radiographs, MRI and CT.
- Exposure to MSK interventions.
- Opportunities for MSK publications and academics (if you have an academic inclination).
India
Here is a list of institutes in India in alphabetical order conducting MSK radiology fellowship programmes. Details are in the links provided. Some of the fellowships have reviews as well on the Cafe Roentgen website.
1. Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, Pune
International Fellowship Details | Review
2. DY Patil University, Pune
3. Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore
4. Innovision, Mumbai
5. Jaipur Institute of Pain and Sports Injuries
6. Max Hospital, Saket, Delhi
7. Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon
8. MGR Medical University, Chennai
9. PGI, Chandigarh
10. SRMC, Chennai
11. Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai (MSK and Paediatric Oncoimaging Fellowship)
Please contact the academic section of TMH Mumbai for details
ESOR - ESSR MSK Radiology Fellowship
Applications usually open in February, for a fellowship start date in the second half the year. These are for radiologists within 4 years of completion of their postgraduate radiology certification. The fellowship duration is 3 months.
ESOR provides a scholarship of 3500 Euros for the fellowship for the selected candidates.
A list of 5 to 6 institutes is usually displayed on the ESOR website offering MSK radiology fellowship programmes for that year. Candidates have to submit a letter of motivation, two letters of recommendation and their CV for the selection process.
Things to consider when applying for these fellowships is whether you would be comfortable in reporting in the native language of that country as radiology reporting in mainland Europe is usually in native languages. It is best to have a discussion via email with the individual fellowship programme directors for that year regarding the opportunities and scope of work in the fellowship programme before putting in your choices. You can also have a discussion with them if reporting in English would be allowed if you are not comfortable with reporting in that country’s native language.
Link for the fellowship details:
MSK Radiology Fellowships (ESSR) - ESOR - European School of Radiology
United Kingdom
MSK radiology fellowships in the UK are generally highly competitive, with most being offered in hospitals considered among the best in orthopaedics in the world. They are usually open only for post FRCR candidates who have completed their radiology training in UK ie CCT or at least a CESR after FRCR for overseas trained candidates. Some MSK radiology fellowship programmes may consider candidates with NHS experience as a locum consultant radiologist with special interest in MSK (without CESR), but it varies on a case to case basis and would be at the discretion of the department. UK MSK radiology fellowship programmes in the tertiary orthopaedic hospitals are generally comprehensive with exposure to bone and soft tissue tumour imaging and interventions along with sports medicine, rheumatology etc. Usually the MSK radiology fellowships are of 1 year duration.
MSK radiology (and other subspeciality) fellowships are advertised on the following websites for England and Wales:
You can subscribe to email alerts on these websites to get alerts of new fellowship openings in your inbox.
Some of the hospitals providing MSK radiology fellowships in UK are as follows (in alphabetical order by city):
1. Birmingham (Royal Orthopaedic Hospital)
2. Cambridge (Addenbrooke's Hospital)
3. Leeds (Leeds Teaching Hospitals)
4. Liverpool (Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospital)
5. London (Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore)
6. Oswestry (Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital)
7. Oxford (Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre)
8. Stoke Mandeville (Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Buckinghamshire)
9. Stoke on Trent (University Hospitals of North Midlands)
Further details are available on the BSSR page.
Canada
Applications to MSK radiology fellowships in Canada are based on CV and do not require the candidates to clear a certification exam. Applications for MSK radiology fellowships in Canada usually have to be done 2 years in advance. Applications have to be submitted to each training programme separately.
Following is a list of MSK radiology fellowship programmes in Canada in alphabetical order of the cities in which they are based.
1. Calgary (University of Calgary)
2. Edmonton (University of Alberta)
3. Hamilton (McMaster University)
4. Montreal (McGill University)
5. Ottawa (University of Ottawa)
6. Toronto (University of Toronto)
7. Vancouver (University of British Columbia)
USA
Applications have to be made to individual MSK radiology fellowship programmes after clearing USMLE. USMLE is a must as USA fellowships require the candidate to be licensed. MSK fellowships are predominantly offered through what is known as the ‘match’, where candidates are accepted by individual fellowship programmes based on their USMLE scores and CV. There are two types of fellowships, ACGME-accredited and non-accredited. Non-accredited fellowships can be complete MSK ones or can be a combination (like neuroradiology + MSK radiology). Non-accredited fellowships are a little easier to get for international medical graduates (IMGs) compared to accredited ones. Theoretically IMGs can participate in the match to apply for ACGME-accredited fellowships but it can be difficult to get selected for them.
Details including a list of MSK radiology fellowship programmes can be found on the SSR website: https://skeletalrad.org/my-msk/msk-match-applicants