Medical imaging is the “modern stethoscope,” essential for assessing conditions like cancer, heart disease, lung disease and more. Advances in technology, AI and analytics are driving groundbreaking innovations in imaging, enabling earlier, accurate and clinically meaningful diagnoses like never before.
With a new $5M multi-year investment, Sutter Health is positioned to power clinical excellence with academic partnerships and graduate medical education. The system aims to train the next generation of leading radiologists and imaging professionals — a field critical to the delivery of imaging services and one experiencing a significant shortage of physicians and imaging technologists across Northern California and the United States.
The investment complements Sutter’s multi-year strategic partnership with GE HealthCare, a global healthcare solutions provider.
Dr. Jason Wiesner
“Access to timely, accurate imaging is essential for patient care,” says Dr. Jason Wiesner, radiologist and system chair of Sutter’s imaging service line. “Through our partnership with GE HealthCare, we’re not just investing in technology — we’re investing in better care, innovation and education for the future of radiology.”
“Workforce development is one of the many elements of our multi-faceted collaboration with Sutter Health. Our technology and our teams aim to help train and educate the next generation of clinicians at Sutter, who are instrumental in helping create more access to high-quality care,” said Aaron Hudy, GE HealthCare region president.
Advancing Medical Education Through Collaboration
Sutter’s collaboration with GE HealthCare leverages a unique opportunity to train radiologists and radiologic technicians in the fundamentals of diagnostic imaging through an AI-powered lens. This advanced training equips radiologists with expertise to help detect cancers, brain, heart and vascular illnesses earlier and identify pulmonary conditions, like asthma, before they lead to potential respiratory failure. It also gives radiologists tools to deliver faster, more accurate diagnoses that help patients stay healthy and live longer.
Dr. Khai Tran
“Sutter’s new investment, earmarked for education, helps us begin laying the groundwork for a radiology residency program at Sutter Roseville Medical Center,” says Dr. Khai Tran, Sutter Medical Group Imaging Service Line Medical director, who is spearheading residency planning efforts. “It enables us to not only train future physicians but also expose them to cutting-edge tools like AI-powered diagnostic platforms and novel imaging technologies early in their careers. This synthesis of education and technology will create a pathway of radiologists who are both clinically excellent and equipped to lead in a rapidly evolving field.”
Coordination and Planning Ushers in the Best Medicine
The road to establishing a residency program is often a multi-year journey, requiring careful planning and collaboration among GME faculty, physicians and care teams across the system. Dr. Tran believes the curriculum will not only teach physicians the fundamentals of radiology across diverse care settings but also prepare future medical leaders to be adaptable and innovative, ensuring patients receive excellent care informed by research and quality improvement.
“There can be many challenges and hurdles to overcome before meeting ACGME standards to achieve accreditation,” explains Dr. Tran. “Sutter is in a unique position to meet important requirements thanks to the strength of our integrated system. Our dedicated teaching faculty and ongoing investments in training and technology support our ability to build a residency program that further elevates care for patients.”
The Unsung Hero of Modern Medicine
Although radiology is often viewed as a behind-the-curtain specialty, it plays a central role in care delivery. Yet the supply of board-certified radiologists has not kept pace with demand.
“Radiologists often work behind the scenes, but our specialty touches nearly every patient’s journey,” says Dr. Wiesner. “Imaging guides care in cancer, heart disease, lung conditions, and beyond. That’s why investing in education and training is so critical—to ensure patients continue to receive the highest quality care.”
This proposed residency program will address the radiologist shortage head-on, with a goal to increase recruitment and strengthen the diagnostic imaging services offered at Sutter Roseville Medical Center and other care sites within the Sutter network.
Supporting a Medical Workforce to Close Care Gaps
“The future of medicine is being shaped here at Sutter by teams of clinicians, educators, and engineers working together,” says Dr. Wiesner. “With advanced imaging and AI as part of the toolkit, this residency effort represents a blueprint for how we can train and inspire the next generation. It’s about preparing physicians to serve every patient with excellence, across every community we touch.”
With 30 residency and fellowship programs comprising family medicine and numerous specialties, and many more GME programs planned, Sutter is on pace to become Northern California’s largest community-based healthcare training system. Sutter continues to build its training pathways.
Some of Sutter’s largest GME programs include internal medicine, surgery and family medicine as well as rural residency tracts in family medicine. Recently announced and ACGME-approved GME programs include a gastroenterology fellowship program and residencies in neurology, hematology-oncology, pulmonary-critical care medicine and obstetrics-gynecology.
Learn how GME at Sutter Health is building our foundation for clinical excellence.
