The Department of Radiology recently welcomed first-year diagnostic and interventional radiology residents at its 5th Annual Thomas A. Powers Lead Ceremony. Six diagnostic and three interventional radiology residents make up this year’s first-year class.
Similar to a medical school’s white coat ceremony, the Lead Ceremony marks the official start of radiology training, and the residents’ induction into the global community of radiologists. Diagnostic radiology residency program director Edwin Donnelly, M.D., Ph.D., and interventional radiology residency program director Ryan Muller, M.D., gave a brief introduction of each resident, including where they were from and where they completed medical school, before they were presented with custom-fitted lead they designed to wear throughout their training. Representative of the residents’ personalities and style, the lead featured both solid and print designs, including floral, camouflage and nods to undergraduate alma maters.
In his opening remarks, Radiology Chair Reed Omary, M.D., M.S., said the Lead Ceremony is one of the most special days of the year for the department, describing it as a milestone for the residents as they embark on a new chapter in their careers. “Today is the day we officially consider them as radiologists because they will have their own lead,” he said.
The ceremony took place at the conclusion of the department’s annual Residents’ Day activities, which welcomed families of the first-year residents for an afternoon of brief presentations and a campus tour. Family and friends, as well as faculty, staff, trainees, and the ceremony’s namesake, Thomas A. Powers, were present for the Lead Ceremony.
Powers is a former body imaging section chief and longtime nighthawk who retired from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2014. A recipient of several teaching awards, he was universally recognized for his expertise and teaching ability. He made a tremendous impact on current and former trainees and faculty, and is often regarded by his peers as the quintessential radiologist. The ceremony was established in Powers’ honor in 2013.
The ceremony's namesake, Thomas A. Powers, M.D., attends the 5th Annual Lead Ceremony.
First-year diagnostic and interventional radiology residents receive their lead.
(Left to right) Drs. Ryan Muller, Edwin Donnelly and Reed Omary celebrate as first-year residents receive their lead.
Photos by Yu Luo, M.D., Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
