Department of Radiology

Historical Perspective

The Department of Radiology at Meharry Medical College was first designated as the Division of Electrotherapeutics in 1918, offering 20 hours of training in the specialty to senior students.  The division evolved into the Department of Radiology by 1945, and its first chairman was a Meharry Medical College graduate, Dr. L. D. Scott.  Dr. Gadson Tarleton chaired the department from 1949 to 1977.  The immediate past chair, Dr. Harold Thompson, was appointed in 1978 and served until 2004.  During the interim between 1977 and 1978, Dr. Luther Addair served as chair for a brief while.

The department is clinically accredited by the American College of Radiology and has excelled in its JCAHO site visits with an average rating of 93 or above.  The functional modalities adjudicated are mammography, CT, and MRI.

Preceptively, the department instructs approximately 64 senior medical students per academic year through its Senior Radiology Clerkship rotation, and additional seniors are assisted by an independent study arrangement.  The senior elective is a four-week, comprehensive review of all organ systems and, at the same time, serves as a USMLE Step II review.  Clerkship students have consistently rated the Radiology academic process as outstanding.  The department currently enjoys a 94% satisfaction rating given by senior medical students on the AMA Senior Survey.

The department established an alliance with Vanderbilt Medical School whereby a different Vanderbilt resident rotates each month through the Radiology department.  The high quality of instruction has secured for the department an outstanding rating collectively from the Vanderbilt resident program.