Anesthesia vs. Radiology?

[SandP]

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From your perspective, whose future is more uncertain/tenuous?

 

[TeslaCoil]

Very hard to say. But the issues have been ongoing for decades in both fields, and I can tell you anesthesia still has a solid job market that doesnt appear to be going away anytime soon. No insight as to the situation in rads. But in general all fields in medicine are in a struggle with midlevel encroachment and diminishing reimbursements, etc.

 

[UnoMas]

I have been following all the threads you created and I am going to say neither- you wont be happy in either if you have this ‘grass is greener’ mentality. No one on this board can tell you how things will pan out for either. The 2 specialties provoke similar ‘uncertainty’ response when mentioned as an aspiring career
The job market for Radiology sucked big time just a few years back. People doing 2-3 fellowships to get jobs. That’s 6-7 years of training. No one then could foresee the bounceback we see now.
Just go with the one that has the routine stuff you don’t mind doing when you are 50. No one here could predict the future

 

[AdmiralChz]

Yeah I agree with @UnoMas - it seemed just 6-12 months ago that radiology was just awful but the job market has seemingly rebounded and my friends in the field say as much as well (while also downplaying how bad it apparently was).

That being said, if you think hospital administration hates the anesthesia contracts just imagine them salivating at a possible artificial intelligence reading all of their straightforward X-rays and CTs, and then MRIs. Maybe slash the radiology department to just a handful of people to check the AI work. This is a very real fear out there, even if the reality is not yet here. I also wondered about the impact of tele-radiology services (based sometimes in other countries!) on local radiology practices but apparently there are enough barriers to entry that this hasn't been a concern.

Perhaps the most interesting part of (diagnostic) radiology is that it is one of the few fields hardly impacted by the growth of midlevel providers (NP/PA).

The concerns about Anesthesia are magnified on this board, but haven't substantially changed in years. Ongoing corporatization of the specialty is a concern, but that is hardly limited to us (see: EM).

 

[agolden1]

From your perspective, whose future is more uncertain/tenuous?

Look, I get it. I've seen a bunch of posts across multiple boards, and from reading your profile it looks like you're it looks like you're trying to figure out whats the best to apply to as a senior med student. It's incredibly tough to know, and, as you've already seen, some people hate their matched field while others absolutely love it. It is incredibly hard as there will be a whole bunch of intricacies about any field that you can't possibly appreciate until you are deep in training. My buddy who is a radiology resident feels overwhelmed by the amount of imaging he has to learn, and is worried about being able to read high volumes of imaging for the rest of his life. I enjoy the study of anesthesia, but loath how many services at my institution talk down to or willingly blame anesthesia for just about anything that possibly could go wrong. I wouldn't have thought of these issues as a med student. Similarly, I hated internal medicine during my third year rotation, but really came to enjoy it as well as my critical care rotations during my intern year.

If your board scores are awesome, there are so, so many fields many would recommend you go into unless you have a burning passion for anesthesia. If they aren't so hot, anesthesia can be a good home as compared to some other fields which are open to mid to low scorers. If you are really really on the fence and have no idea, consider this. Apply IM and go to the best program you can. Keep your eyes and ears open and learn as much as you can and commit to a six year training period (residency + ?). If you discover you love a fellowship some would recommend to go that route. If still nothing appeals to you, then you can snag an advanced spot in anesthesia, or apply for ophthalmology (I've seen your posts there as well). Good luck.

 

[epidural man]

Neither. Do Derm. Have you ever met a disgruntled dermatologist?

Have you ever tried to get an appointment?

No matter where I have lived, there is always a several month wait for all of them - probably cuz they can work 30 hrs a week and make a great living.

And it’s cool stuff.