Dr Andrew Swali awarded a NBIA Radiology Fellowship in 2023 based at East Cheshire NHS Trust. Andrew shares his experience of the Fellowship programme and what led him to pursue a career in breast imaging.
In my final stage of my radiology specialty training, I chose to sub-specialise in breast imaging. I was keen to carry out a breast imaging fellowship to gain more experience prior to taking a consultant post. Knowing about the National Breast Imaging Academy (NBIA) programme and their ties to the Nightingale Centre; a purpose-built breast cancer prevention centre, this stood out as my best option. I made an application to the programme and was successful. I started on the twelve-month fellowship at East Cheshire NHS Trust in January 2024.
Breast radiology is a very interesting subspeciality as it provides a good mix of all aspects of clinical radiology. The diagnostic aspect to the role involves both symptomatic and screening services; multiple imaging modalities are used including mammography, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
In addition to the diagnostic role, there is a face-to-face role with patients where we, as clinicians, are privileged to be able to make a significant difference to the patient’s journey. Interventional breast procedures are a fundamental role of a breast radiologist and as part of the fellowship there are lots of opportunities to carry out procedures under stereotactic and ultrasound guidance, including drainages, biopsies and localisations.
We work as part of the multi-disciplinary team with surgical, pathology, oncology, mammography and nursing colleagues contributing to decisions about patients’ treatment and care. I find working within the screening centre personally very rewarding as we can detect malignancies early, hence begin treatment early and give our patients the best opportunity for favourable outcomes.
Overall, the breast department is a welcoming environment with great job satisfaction which offers multiple facets of diagnostic imaging as well as a more clinically orientated role. The breast unit at East Cheshire is a very friendly department where there is a great deal of support from the breast radiologists. My job plan is varied, working within both the symptomatic and screening services, as well as maintaining some general radiology duties.
I would recommend the NBIA fellowship for anyone who wishes to gain varied and in-depth experience in breast imaging.