Consultant Radiologist Dr Nemi Gandy, the Radiology Training Programme Director at London North West Healthcare NHS Trust who reports scans at Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, explains why the Centre offers such valuable experience for radiology trainees.
“I completed some of my own oncology and PET-CT training at Paul Strickland Scanner Centre, so I know from personal experience what a valuable training ground it is. “At Northwick Park Hospital, we tend to send our more senior radiology trainees to Paul Strickland Scanner Centre when they have developed an interest in cross-sectional imaging, particularly oncological imaging or PET -CT. Although trainees gain plenty of experience in general crosssectional imaging at our base hospital, they do not have access to the highly specialised oncology experience that is available here.
Paul Strickland Scanner Centre gives them the opportunity to learn in a specialist setting and to report complex cancer imaging alongside radiologists who have considerable expertise in the field.
“Patients from Northwick Park Hospital come to Paul Strickland Scanner Centre for PET-CT scans, whole-body MRI and other oncology imaging, particularly when they are being treated at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre. We see much of that imaging at Northwick Park, but a placement here allows trainees to report it themselves, with guidance from specialists. That makes it an incredible learning experience. “From my own experience, and from the feedback I receive from trainees, their time at Paul Strickland Scanner Centre is extremely valuable. They return feeling much more confident about reporting cross-sectional imaging, including body CT and MRI of the brain and spine, as well as more complex techniques such as whole-body MRI or PET CT.
“The centre is also well known within the radiology community. Pioneers in whole-body MRI and PET-CT have worked here and its consultants represent the centre at courses and conferences in the UK and internationally.”
