IR sub specialty expanding?

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Hello,

I'm a pre-med that is very interested in Interventional Radiology. After research at length about two other fields that I am considering aiming for (general surgery and diagnostic radiology), I stumbled across this sub-specialty that encompasses the best of both fields!

Please excuse the potentially extreme naivete of the following comments, I am a pre-med after all, and decisions regarding specialties are still at least 4-5 years away for me.
I was initially considering surgery as a 'reach' specialty, since it is known to be very selective, requiring high step scores, basic science honors, clinical honors, research etc.
So then I was looking to radiology as a backup, in case I don't match to surgery, this specialty though competitive is not as bad as surgery.

So now stumbling across IR, I am wondering if there is a more difficult track (surg + IR) and a less difficult track (rad + [IR + surg])?

That was my first question, my second is whether this field is looking to expand significantly. The way I see it is that soon the baby-boomer generation will reach the age where many will have conditions that require invasive surgical procedures (cardiovascular diseases, cancers, etc). At the same time, robotically assisted surgery and similar medical technology will continue to improve, while infrastructure is usually slow to catch up.
So in order to accommodate the massive demand for these procedures, while controlling for cost and time, minimally invasive procedures that minimize truama, and hence post-operative care, will be the method of choice for hospitals across the country. Eventually, every hospital is going to have at least one IR on staff. I see this happening soon, so with the current system that way it is, are there enough programs to produce a sufficient number of IRs??

Or maybe I'm overly idealistic, and there are studies that show that IRs are not necessary (show me!!). I am very curious about this topic, and no matter what the demand will be, IR is now definitely on my radar.

Now if I can just get into a friggin school!

Let me help you out a little bit to get the thread going. Interventional radiology is a subspecialty of radiology, not surgery. You would need to do your residency in diagnostic radiology. So after med school you would do 1 year of internship followed by 4 years of diagnostic radiology. After completing residency you would be eligible to do 1 year of interventional radiology as your subspecialty fellowship. In general, radiology would not be considered a back up specialty for surgery, as it is also competitive.

If you wanted to go through a surgical residency and then find a minimally invasive field, you could do fellowship in vascular surgery. They do a lot of endovascular surgery as well.

I can not understand how you came to the conclusion that you like interventional radiology?
Relax and east it down. Enter medical school, see whether you like medicine at all or not, then try to rotate through all clinical departments and then find your interest.
Whatever you decide now is totally wrong and I bet you will not feel the same in 5 years.

Originally Posted by badasshairday

Let me help you out a little bit to get the thread going. Interventional radiology is a subspecialty of radiology, not surgery. You would need to do your residency in diagnostic radiology. So after med school you would do 1 year of internship followed by 4 years of diagnostic radiology. After completing residency you would be eligible to do 1 year of interventional radiology as your subspecialty fellowship. In general, radiology would not be considered a back up specialty for surgery, as it is also competitive.

If you wanted to go through a surgical residency and then find a minimally invasive field, you could do fellowship in vascular surgery. They do a lot of endovascular surgery as well.

Thank you for the clarification, I was under the impression that interventional rad/card was more focused on the surgical side, since you are also being trained on how to treat as well as diagnose.

It is good that I also understand how competitive both fields are, at the very least it gives me the motivation to work towards that goal.

Originally Posted by shark2000

I can not understand how you came to the conclusion that you like interventional radiology?
Relax and east it down. Enter medical school, see whether you like medicine at all or not, then try to rotate through all clinical departments and then find your interest.
Whatever you decide now is totally wrong and I bet you will not feel the same in 5 years.

Hehe, I get comments like this a lot. Well I hope I do like medicine, I have yet to talk myself out of it so far.

And it is true, I can very well change my mind regarding what specialty I will ultimately pursue, and quite possibly the choice may not be mine to make and I accept that.

This program just caught my eye, because it encompasses two fields I am interested in and I could see a spike in demand for minimally invasive treatments in the near future.

But I will definitely approach my rotations with an open mind, but with over 100 specialties and sub-specialties isn't is difficult to really dial into something you would be interested in without some initial preference?

Originally Posted by shark2000

I can not understand how you came to the conclusion that you like interventional radiology?
Relax and east it down. Enter medical school, see whether you like medicine at all or not, then try to rotate through all clinical departments and then find your interest.
Whatever you decide now is totally wrong and I bet you will not feel the same in 5 years.

I know how...you go to google and type in physician salaries. Then you choose the one that pays a lot. The same way most med students make their decisions.

Originally Posted by bloomingdale

i know how...you go to google and type in physician salaries. Then you choose the one that pays a lot. The same way most med students make their decisions.

1+

First off, yes it is highly likely you will change your mind on what specialty to pursue..perhaps numerous times. I would highly recommend "shadowing" a general surgeon and IR to see if these fields are up your alley.
Second, medicine is awesome, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, yeah it is tough work but very rewarding.
Third, and this is bias on my part as a radiology resident, IR is hands down the most awesome field around, they can do things general surgeons can't all through a tiny incision and the patient can go home the next day (of course gen surg can do things we can't too).
Bottom line: work hard and get great MCAT and USMLE scores, the better you do the more doors stay open, rads and gen surg are both on the competitive side!

Just a piece of advice. By the time you finish IR training which will be at least 10-12 years from now, the money may not be there.

Originally Posted by Xivilus1231

Hello,
So now stumbling across IR, I am wondering if there is a more difficult track (surg + IR) and a less difficult track (rad + [IR + surg])?

That was my first question, my second is whether this field is looking to expand significantly.

Are there enough programs to produce a sufficient number of IRs??

Now if I can just get into a friggin school!

Hey nice to see enthusiastic people around. Good to have a passion even if it changes with time. Try as many specialties as you can first, then decide. Apart from O&G, I wanted to specialise in every rotation I ever did. But as you get more exposed, it will become apparent which one really suits you. Might or might not be IR. Just keep an open mind for now.

About whether doing surgery first then subspecialise in minimally invasive procedures is harder, or, doing radiology first then subspecialise in IR is harder:
These 2 pathways will produce different specialists and even though some overlap, they don't always do the same things. If you major in surgery and minor in minimally invasive surgery, that's what you'll get. You'll be strong at theater and clinical type of things but weak at imaging related interpretations and procedures (kind of like Jack Bauer using 24 analogy). If you major in radiology and minor in IR, you'll be strong in imaging guided procedures but not useful at all if anything needs to be converted to open (so you'll be like Almeida).

Problem is life is too short and you can't have both. So it comes down to a personal choice which only you can answer eventually. In terms of which is harder, it depends on your aptitude. The one that suits your aptitude is easier.

As long as computing technology continues to expand, so will radiology. This field (diagnostic and interventional radiology) is only going to become more and more useful.

Question about enough programs for IR's. Don't worry about them now. Things will change by the time you finish diagnostic radiology (if go down radiology pathway). Sort it out then.