VRCI is a radiology group who provide Radiology and Nuclear Medicine services with multiple partner organizations in the Greater Victoria area, British Columbia, including Island Health, BC Cancer and West Coast Medical Imaging.

Our clinical team consists of 25 partners, 2 emeritus senior associates, and 2 junior associates. Our referral base exceeds 800,000 people, and we provide all the diagnostic imaging services for the greater Victoria area in British Columbia, Canada. This includes image interpretation and image guided interventional procedures at 6 Island Health sites, 2 private imaging facilities, and BCCA Victoria.

Our Nuclear Medicine Team consists of 5 dual trained physicians FRCPC certified in both Radiology and Nuclear Medicine who participate both in general radiology portion of our practice, as well as dedicated rotations in general nuclear medicine and therapy in Island Health and PET/CT interpretation for BCCA Victoria.

We are also an active teaching site for the UBC Nuclear Medicine Program, and occasionally host senior Nuclear Medicine resident for one month community rotations.

Scope of General Nuclear Medicine Practice:

• Coverage of 5 gamma cameras providing a range of studies
• Cardiac myocardial perfusion image interpretation (stress supervision performed by internal medicine)
• I131 therapies for benign indications and thyroid cancer (could be retrained on site)
• Radium 223 Xofigo therapy consultations (plans to expand to Lu-177 PSMA in the near future)

Scope of PET Practice:

• Currently we scan 25 FDG-PET/CT cases per day for oncologic indications
• Plans to expand to include Ga-68 PSMA and DOTATOC PET in the next 12-18 months
• Workload on a daytime PET rotation is 15 cases, with adjustment for rounds commitments
• Additional PET volume is read on diagnostic radiology and Nuclear Medicine shifts as part of work productivity expectations
• Provide consultant support for 3 weekly local and provincial multidisciplinary case conferences over zoom

Scope of General Radiology Practice:

We recognize that some candidates may be coming from a center where their scope of practice is narrower. Our Nuclear Medicine physicians operate on a variety of clinical rotations outside of Nuclear medicine for approximately 50-60% of their shifts and participate in Radiology call. We are open to retraining candidates in some areas of practice they are less comfortable with on the job if they are motivated.

Prospective radiologists should be comfortable providing general radiology level of interpretation in:

• Radiography
• Ultrasound
• CT
• MRI

Basic procedural competence in non-vascular image guided interventions is an asset, or a willingness to retrain in some of these skills on the job.

All successful candidates must have:

• FRCPC Certification in Diagnostic Radiology
• FRCPC Certification in Nuclear Medicine
• Eligible for full licensure with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC
• Eligible for privileging in both general nuclear medicine and PET.

Work expectations:

• Participation in after-hours call coverage (approximately 12 weekends per year and 20 weeknights per year)
• Minimum 8 weeks vacation, maximum 12 weeks vacation for associate members
• Participation in a subset of multidisciplinary clinical rounds targeted to area(s) of subspecialty expertise

Compensation:

Our group offers generous compensation to new hires and flexible scheduling options. Victoria is a beautiful west coast city with year-round opportunities for outdoor recreation.

How to apply?

Our medical lead for Nuclear Medicine is Dr. James Curtis.

Please send a CV and letter of intent to Dr. Curtis.

Many successful prior applicants choose to try us out first with a one to two week locum. This is a great way to better understand our operation and see if our group culture and work dynamic are a good fit for you. If you would consider this, please indicate this in your communications so we can discuss availabilities.

If you are FRCPC certified in Radiology and have not yet completed your Nuclear Medicine training, we would like to hear from you as well. We can schedule you for a locum on Radiology rotations only if interested, which should give you a good feel for our group.

All our group members are highly approachable. If you have questions pertaining to a specific modality or subset of our practice, have a look at our team listed on the website, and feel free to contact a specific modality lead or subspecialist for more specific questions.

Our Nuclear Medicine Section:

Alan Andrew

Radiologist, Nuclear Medicine Physician

Island Health Leadership Roles Department Head, Radiology, Island Health Subspecialty Interests Nuclear Medicine and Neuroradiology. Medical

Derek Chu

Radiologist, Nuclear Medicine Physician

Dr. Chu is an emeritus member of VRCI. While he recently retired from

George Yakemchuk

Radiologist, Nuclear Medicine

Leadership Roles VRCI Executive – Governing Council member Subspecialty Interests Nuclear Medicine Medical School U of Calgary Residency Internship

James Curtis

Radiologist, Nuclear Medicine Physician

Leadership Roles: Modality Lead for Nuclear Medicine, Island Health VRCI Executive- Governing Council Member

Kevin Forkheim

Radiologist, Nuclear Medicine Physician

Subspecialty Interests Cancer Imaging, MSK, Neuroradiology, thyroid imaging, bone density Leadership Roles Site Lead –

Ning Su

Radiologist, Nuclear Medicine Physician

Subspecialty Interests Oncologic and functional imaging. Chest radiology Medical School Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2015 Residency Diagnostic

Please note, Dr. Derek Chu is recently retired from partnership but still retired provides occasional Nuclear Medicine Locum services for our group.

Want to know more? This is why you should join us.