Our Culture

The culture of our Radiology department is rooted in the familial and collegial atmosphere that is fostered by our chairman Dr. Mark Montgomery and our faculty. Dr. Montgomery has been invested in this program since his father, Dr. John Montgomery, was chairman from 1977-1992 and is one of the biggest advocates for residents in the department.

Dr. James Schnitker, is currently the longest acting Diagnostic Radiology program director in the United States and has served in that role for over 20 years. The continuity of his leadership for our program cannot be understated and has allowed us to focus on continuously improving our resident education.

A huge part of our resident culture includes our amazing and wonderful program coordinator Lisa Harris Pates. She is always available and willing to help. Our program would not be the same without her!

The faculty at our program also have significant state and national leadership that helps our residents achieve any goals they may have in pursuing organized medicine. In addition to her extensive work in the area of Breast Imaging to include past president of the Society of Breast Imaging, Dr. Debra Monticciolo is also the immediate past president of the American College of Radiology. Other notable faculty include Dr. Montgomery, who has recently served as president of the Texas Radiological Society, and Dr. Michael Middleton, who has served on multiple leadership committees for the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

Our program culture prides itself on being a welcoming environment for all and is one of the many reasons that so many residents that complete their residency here come back on as staff after fellowship. Our program embodies resident wellness and has many social events throughout the year that both staff and residents attend. Our major events include a welcome party in July for the new residents, a pig roast in the fall, a crawfish boil in the spring, and our graduation ceremony in June. In addition to these large events, we have smaller monthly events such as Oktoberfest, Halloween party, Pot-Luck Thanksgiving, Christmas party, and departmental golf tournaments. As residents we also frequently meet up for Happy Hour and enjoy spending time with one another outside of work.