Veterans Administration (VA) Radiology

Dr. Richard Morse is the Acting Chief of Radiology at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital (VA) in White River Junction, Vermont, and is the supervisor of the cross-sectional imaging section. Dr. Susan Harper supervises the VA residency rotation, and Dr. James Lenz heads the VA's Interventional and Nuclear Medicine sections.

Equipment
The Veterans Affairs Hospital has strengthened its Radiology Department with substantial equipment purchases during the past several years. There has been a steady increase in volumes, and our expanded services strengthen the institution and provide patients with more convenient access to a wider array of diagnostic procedures and treatments.

In 2006, the VA Hospital acquired a Computed Radiography system, making the Radiology Department completely digital. The ability to transfer comprehensive patient information throughout the VA system is invaluable. Additional upgrades to the department over the last two years have included the installation of a PACS system and a Toshiba 64-slice MDCT scanner; the addition of a new radiographics room; a complete renovation of the angio/interventional equipment, with integration into the PACS system; the acquisition of a DEXA scanner; and the use of the Powerscribe Voice Recognition dictation system. Additionally, the institution has acquired a mobile MRI (1.5 Tesla Siemens) for scanning three days a week.

Pending updates include the purchase of two new ultrasound machines and a new dual-head gamma camera. The hospital also plans to renovate a room in the Radiology Department and a digital radiographics room in the outpatient clinic/emergency room. Well-established programs currently exist for aortic and carotid stent graft procedures.

Teaching
A vital aspect of the VA's mission is education. We continue to teach the medical residents/interns and medical students through conferences, which include a daily medical conference and weekly Tumor Board and Morbidity and Mortality conferences. Radiology resident rotations at the VA continue to be three full days per week in two-week blocks. Dr. Harper dedicates half of her time to Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) as Assistant Dean of Medical Education. She also acts as the DMS school official to the National Residency Matching Program and writes the Medical School Performance Evaluations (MSPE) for DMS.