Cardiovascular imaging fellowship, worth it?

[drbee]

I am interested in doing cardiovascular imaging fellowship but concerned about its job market and turf issues with cardio and vascular.

For those who have done it, is it worth it or would you have done something else that might be more marketable such as breast, MSK, neuro? How hard is it to get an academic job with such fellowship for someone with strong research background? I assume it has little marketability in PP.

Also, could anyone comment on the programs in Cali?

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[cowme]

It's a very niche field in radiology. I would imagine the opportunities in academics aren't any different in cardiac than other fields. However, there is very little marketability in private practice. Very few practices do much cardiac MR, as the reimbursement is quite low.

 

[shark2000]

It is usually a part of chest fellowship. You do both chest and cardiac, though in some places you only do cardiovascular.

Anyway, it is in demand now in academics. There is a national shortage of chest radiologists in academics. The demand comes from the chest portion of it. For cardiac, the volume is low and probably will not go up in the near future.

In pp, it is not in demand at all as most don't care about it.

With the new guidelines for CT lung cancer screening, I predict a high demand for it in the near future in academics. Sooner or later they will need someone to measure nodules the whole day for them, the same as what mammo people do (counting calcifications the whole day).