University of California San Diego Medical Center Program

Program Identity & Fit

UC San Diego's Integrated IR Residency is a university-based, academic program embedded in a large multi-site health system spanning Hillcrest, La Jolla (Thornton Pavilion and Jacobs Medical Center), VA San Diego, Kaiser Permanente San Diego, and Rady Children's, giving trainees exposure across adult, pediatric, and VA populations with 12 interventional suites and a 13-member core IR faculty plus 15 adjunct faculty. The five-year curriculum follows the diagnostic-heavy-then-IR structure (three years diagnostic, two years IR) with front-loaded night float and a dedicated ICU rotation, and residents cross-cover clinical services (Oncology, Vascular Surgery, Urology, Neurosurgery, Nephrology) reflecting an emphasis on peri-procedural clinical ownership, not just imaging interpretation. Research is structurally supported through a parallel six-year Clinician-Scientist Radiology Residency Program (CSRRP/T32) track for those wanting substantive investigative training, alongside a broader department with extensive imaging research centers (CFMRI, CTIPM, ICMIC) and clear expectations for scholarly independence in faculty advancement, signaling an institutional culture that prizes academic productivity. The program values applicants who are certain of an IR career, comfortable with a separate preliminary internship year, and capable of functioning within a large, multi-hospital academic system with heavy clinical consult responsibilities.