HCA Healthcare Riverside Program

Radiology-Diagnostic Analyst Verified · Aug 31, 2026

HCA Healthcare Riverside Program

HCA Healthcare Riverside Program is a residency program specializing in Radiology-Diagnostic, located in Riverside, California, directed by Shiv Bhanu, MD and coordinated by Elizabeth Martinez. The program accepts applications through December 31, 2026 and holds an accreditation status of Continued. International Medical Graduates interested in this program may contact the program coordinator directly at [email protected] or (951) 966-3842. IMGPrep analysts have verified and compiled this program’s IMG acceptance rate, USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 score requirements, Visa Sponsorship Policy, graduation year cutoff, and ECFMG certificate requirements — available to IMGPrep subscribers.

Program Identity & Fit

Riverside Community Hospital's Diagnostic Radiology Residency is a young (launched 2020), community-based, four-year ACGME program built around a Level I trauma center and comprehensive stroke center serving a high-volume, socioeconomically diverse referral population across Riverside County. With no fellows in the department, residents hold primary responsibility for protocoling, procedures, and consults from early training, supplemented by targeted subspecialty rotations at outside sites (pediatrics and PET/CT at Loma Linda, mammography at City of Hope, MSK MRI at Radnet/Kerlan-Jobe) to fill gaps in an otherwise broad general-radiology curriculum. Research is supported through HCA's national infrastructure (data access, coordinators, conference travel funding) but is not positioned as programmatically central; the explicit goal is producing strong general radiologists who transition smoothly into competitive subspecialty fellowships, as evidenced by the inaugural class's placements at Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, and University of Miami. The program explicitly values personality and fit within a small, close-knit department over rigid metrics, reflecting its self-described "congenial," non-cutoff-driven selection philosophy.

Who it fits

An applicant seeking hands-on, autonomy-heavy general radiology training in a fellow-free community/trauma environment, who values collegial culture and a clear fellowship-oriented trajectory over a research-heavy academic identity.

Research intensity

Moderate - institutionally supported through HCA's national research infrastructure and travel funding, but not emphasized as central to the program's mission.

Career orientation

Fellowship - virtually all inaugural graduates pursued competitive subspecialty fellowships, reflecting the program's stated goal of preparing residents for post-residency subspecialization.

Important

The program states it does not use rank-order cutoffs or apply strict scoring criteria, instead evaluating each candidate individually with heavy emphasis on personality and fit within the department, and welcomes applicants with unconventional backgrounds or prior postgraduate training in other fields.

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