what do you like about radiology

[biffbuddy]

hey everyone,

I am a senior in college and am considering a career in radiology- I was just curious to know what drew you into radiology, what you like about it, what you don't like about it, and anything else you'd like to say

thanks a lot,
BB

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[Rads Resident]

For me, I like that as a radiologist, I see every interesting patient in the hospital yet I'm responsible for none (at least the tedious care that is inevitably involved).

Some points:

1. American doctors are no longer the clinicians they once were. Radiologists make the vast majority of their diagnoses. Most doctors won't give their patient an aspirin without order a CT first. As a result, the radiologist is at the center of the medical practice.

2. Radiologists continually rank number one in surveys of practicing physicians regarding who enjoys their medical practice. I can't tell you how many doctors in the middle of their careers have said to me that they'd choose radiology if they had it do all over again.

3. Most doctors, sadly, don't really understand what the radiologist actually does (but they all think they do). Don't let any non-radiologist convince you what radiology is or is not. The patient contact issue, for example, is often discussed. You can have as much or as little meaningful interaction with your patients as you desire.

4. You have plenty of time to decide, but you're smart to give it some thought now like you are. I would suggest you call a radiologist to shadow him for a day, but I'm not sure a person could really appreciate it unless they had some medical training as a prerequisite. But give it some thought.

 

[eddieberetta]

As a senior in college, you still have a long journey ahead and should probably focus more on whether or not you want to be a doctor rather than worry too much about what specialty you will enter afterwards. Having said that, radiology is an amazing medical specialty that continues to draw some of the best and brightest from medical schools. Some of the things I like about rads are:

1.) Breadth- You are an expert on the imaging and the diagnosis of disease of the whole-body. Your knowledge of whole-body anatomy and pathology is called into use every day. If you want to sub-specialize, you can do so and become an expert on a particular region or system.

2.) Technology- Radiology is one of the most high-tech areas in medicine. In 1970 there was no CT or MR, US was still in a primitive state, and radiography was the main imaging modality. Today all these modalities as well as nuclear medicine scans are interpreted by radiologists.

3.) Fun day to day work- To me, each case is like a little puzzle. We know a bit of the history, and we have the imaging, and we use our knowledge to make the diagnosis. It is a job which makes good use of medical knowledge.

4.) Along the above lines of breadth and innovastion, there is a branch of radiology called interventional radiology in which a radiologist performs minimal-access procedures such as angiograms and biopsies under imaging guidance.

5.) You are a consultant to other doctors, a role many of us like. Some people state that lack of patient contact is a downside but you can have contact in interventional rads and US, and you have constant contact with techs and other referring docs. I love being at the centre of a busy radiology dept.

6.) Lifestyle- This was not the most important factor for me, but many poeple like the Rads lifestyle. You have more control over your hours and type of job than most other docs. You can get into business (owning imaging facillities) or academics. You are not tied to hospitals unless you want to be. The pay and hours are excellent, better than most other specialties.

7.) Most radiologists I have met are *extremely* happy!!

Hope that thelped. Good luck in your career choices.