Carilion History: Physician Education, Part 3

During the 1950s, the hospital's residency and intern programs grew (See the Part 1 and Part 2 articles in the sidebar).

As the years went on, a variety of residency opportunities at the hospital continued expanding:

• Surgical residency was extended to four years in 1968.
• Co-sponsored with the Veteran’s Administration, a rotating internal medicine internship began in 1974.
• An OB/GYN three-year residency was approved in 1978.
• An administrative residency worked with the few institutions of higher learning and specialized in training hospital administrators.

As the medical profession training picture changed, RMH adapted. In the mid-1980s, the hospital added a transitional residency, a one-year program providing residents with experience and training in multiple disciplines before they select a specialty. A rotating transitional intern program in psychiatry was added in 1991.

By 1982, Roanoke Memorial hosted residents and interns from 40 different medical schools, the best record in the country for community hospitals. More than 240 undergraduates from the University of Virginia, as well as 85-90 graduates, rotated through RMH in 1988. Roanoke became a designated “Area Health Education Center,” the only locality in Virginia so described.

School of Clinical Laboratory Science

Board-certified pathologists were rare in Roanoke before 1950. Memorial & Crippled Children’s Hospital staffed its laboratory with four certified medical technologists.

In 1950, the hospital’s first certified pathologist began his tenure; at the time, pathologists were independently employed and worked under contract with hospitals, private physicians and state medical agencies.

In 1951, the American Society of Clinical Pathology approved training for medical technologists at RMH. By 1952, the first student was enrolled and the program’s first graduate stayed with the organization for more than 40 years.

Radiologic Technology

Radiology equipment had been used following World War I, with technicians learning to use the equipment on the job. Roanoke Hospital received its first portable X-ray machine as a donation in 1930.  During financially lean budget years, laboratory technicians doubled as radiology technicians. 

In 1948, a one-year, on-the-job training program for radiology technicians began in order to provide the hospital with trained personnel. Seven students were in the first class. The program was upgraded in 1956 to a two-year certificate program.

By 1964, job titles changed and graduates became radiologic technologists. Students during the 1960s could enroll directly from high school and no tuition was charged for the program until 1968, when a fee of $600 covered one year of training.

Students, mostly women, were required to buy six uniforms, but were provided free laundry, meals and textbooks while in school. Second-year students received stipends of $150 a month.

Rotating night duty was required. School of Nursing dormitory rooms were available for female technologists. Male students slept in interns’ quarters.

Nuclear Medicine

The Department of Nuclear Medicine opened in 1961, comprised of a room with one scanner and one thyroid uptake machine. It was staffed by a technologist and an X-ray student. In March 1964, two technologists were employed.

On-the-job training was provided for technologists until 1973, when a formal program was initiated through an affiliation with the University of Virginia. In 1976, the School of Nuclear Medicine Technology gained accreditation; after graduating 52 students from the two-year curriculum, the program was terminated in 1997.

Radiation Oncology Technology

RMH trained radiation therapists and radiation oncology technologies from 1974 to 1998, with 116 students completing the one-year accredited program.

Stay tuned for more Carilion history!