didn't like physics in college- absolute no to radiology?

[cetaphil]

i didn't like physics in college- does that mean i shouldn't consider radiology or radiation oncology at all?
what kind of physics do you have to be good at to be successful to match in radiology/rad onc, and how do they test that for the residency spots?

thanks in advance! 🙂

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[hans19]

i didn't like physics in college- does that mean i shouldn't consider radiology or radiation oncology at all?
what kind of physics do you have to be good at to be successful to match in radiology/rad onc, and how do they test that for the residency spots?

thanks in advance! 🙂

First, what do you mean by 'dislike'? If you disliked organic chemistry, does that mean you shouldn't apply to medical school?
As opposed to you having poor performance in organic chemistry which might actually keep you out of medical school.

Next, matching has nothing to do with an aptitude for physics. For more information about successfully matching, read the sticky FAQ about getting into a radiology residency.

You don't have to like physics to match in either of those specialties. You do, however, have to have a minimum conceptual grasp of physics to pass the physics board, which is taken a few years into your residency. If you can learn enough organic chemistry to pass it, I think you can learn radiation physics well enough to pass it. Radiation physics is about concepts and shares very little with the calculus-based mechanics of premed physics.

Finally, its curious that you mention both radiology and radiation oncology-- they are two very different fields. Other than the use of ionizing radiation, the things that they have most in common are money and perceived lifestyle. However, if you plan to do well in either residency and have a long productive career it would help to actually 'like' radiology or radiation oncology.

If you pursue either of the fields with a sincere interest (and not just an interest in money and lifestyle), surely you can overcome any prejudices about college physics to pass the physics as well as the written and oral portions of the specialty board exams.

 

[cetaphil]

hey,

thanks for the response.

to clarify, what i wanted to know was whether i would be enjoying radiology as career (i.e. interesting field for me) if i hated doing college/premed physics. i did very well in the courses, but didn't like them.

i always assumed that rad. onc would be some combination of radiology + oncology. no?

 

[colbgw02]

hey,

thanks for the response.

to clarify, what i wanted to know was whether i would be enjoying radiology as career (i.e. interesting field for me) if i hated doing college/premed physics. i did very well in the courses, but didn't like them.

i always assumed that rad. onc would be some combination of radiology + oncology. no?

as hans alluded to, you need not like organic chemistry to enjoy medical school. similarly, you need not like physics to enjoy radiology.

on an hour-by-hour basis, you won't really use radiation physics in your practice. sure, you have to understand artifact and protocols to a degree, but that's not exactly splitting the atom. i might compare it to an internist needing to know basic pharmacokinetics when prescribing medications but not necessarily enjoying biochemistry.

 

[Cold Penguin]

Back in the era of pre-med, I didn't like my first semester of physics with all the kinematic/gravity/force diagram stuff, but the second semester with magnetism/light/sound stuff made much better sense to me.

I was wondering if anyone could give me a name of a good/comprehensive physics prep/reference book for radiology board. I just want to take a glance at it(not that I will buy it now and start studying but I just want to see what kind of physics/calculus materials will be covered) when I get a chance to browse through the shelves in the medical bookstore.

 

[hans19]

I was wondering if anyone could give me a name of a good/comprehensive physics prep/reference book for radiology board. I just want to take a glance at it(not that I will buy it now and start studying but I just want to see what kind of physics/calculus materials will be covered) when I get a chance to browse through the shelves in the medical bookstore.

Once again, radiation physics and newtonian physics have about as much in common as pickles and asphalt. The amount of calculus you have to know for the physics board is ZERO.

If you insist, its the Review of Radiation Physics by Huda that everyone uses. I strongly discourage you from even cracking the book until PGY2, cuz that book is B-O-R-I-N-G and is irrelevent to >99% of the day-to-day practice of medicine, and any time you spend between now and actually studying for it seriously during midway through your PGY 3 year is time wasted- time from your life you will never get back. Watching clips on Youtube, looking at porn, or even picking your nose-- any of those would be better uses of your time than studying for physics before PGY 3. You get the point.

Guys, its not that big a deal. If you guys did well enough to get into medical school and eventually match into radiology, physics should not be a problem for 83% (the vast majority) of you. Unfortunately the board exams are graded on a curve and the bottom 17% will fail.

If you can memorize random facts for a pre-clinical med school exam, you'll do fine on the written board. And folks, with the boards you don't have to worry about gunning for the A, all you have to do is pass (that means getting better than 17% ile). Its not that hard.

And if you've been paying attention the last 4 years and you put in the prep time, you ought to be able to pass the oral boards. Generations of residents did it before you, and generations will do it after you.

 

[toothless rufus]

Unfortunately the board exams are graded on a curve and the bottom 17% will fail.

So, if 100 people took the test, and 83 got a 100, and 17 got a 99: they would fail? Yikes!

 

[MRI4ME]

Back in the era of pre-med, I didn't like my first semester of physics with all the kinematic/gravity/force diagram stuff, but the second semester with magnetism/light/sound stuff made much better sense to me.

I was wondering if anyone could give me a name of a good/comprehensive physics prep/reference book for radiology board. I just want to take a glance at it(not that I will buy it now and start studying but I just want to see what kind of physics/calculus materials will be covered) when I get a chance to browse through the shelves in the medical bookstore.

Radiological Physics by Huda.

Bottom 17% failure rate includes those who have failed before and IMGs trying to get into the US.

 

[hans19]

So, if 100 people took the test, and 83 got a 100, and 17 got a 99: they would fail? Yikes!

Um yeah, but if I remember correctly a lot of med school classes are that way as well. Not a big deal, just don't be in the bottom 17 and you'll do fine.

 

[ScooterBanks]

I didn't particularly like physics in college either. I still don't.

I didn't like anatomy in medical school. That's changed a little. I've found that what I didn't like about anatomy was the "gross" aspect of it. The theory and imaging is interesting.

However, I hate direct hospital patient care, clinic, and the OR with such a fiery passion that I'd quit medicine right now if I had to do IM, peds, surgery, or any other field that involved lots of patient contact, clinic or the OR, which is pretty much everything else besides radiology. My dislike of these things dwarfs whatever problems I have with radiology and makes them seem small and trivial in comparison.

 

[Docxter]

So, if 100 people took the test, and 83 got a 100, and 17 got a 99: they would fail? Yikes!

No. It's just the statistic that's got people confused. The bottom 17% happened to fail. That doesn't mean that in other years or in the future the bottom 17% will fail regardless of how they perform in absolute terms on the exam. If everyone gets 99 or 100 out of a 100 (impossible though), all will pass.

 

[hans19]

No. It's just the statistic that's got people confused. The bottom 17% happened to fail. That doesn't mean that in other years or in the future the bottom 17% will fail regardless of how they perform in absolute terms on the exam. If everyone gets 99 or 100 out of a 100 (impossible though), all will pass.

Thanks for clearing it up, Dox. I guess my point is that the vast majority of test takers will pass.


---
To those anxious types:

Seriously, a patient dying from one of your mistakes, being named in a lawsuit for a cancer you missed, those are things worth getting worked up about. The rest is small potatoes. Some of you guys need to seriously relax. Look at the big picture, even if you fail physics or writtens, SO WHAT?!?! You can retake the dam|\| test and still become a radiologist, have a fascinating career, make more than >95% of the rest of the people in this country, be the envy of many your colleagues in medicine. Its not the end of the world!

At least you aren't serving active duty in Iraq. Those guys have it rough. At least they have it better than the Iraqis. And the Iraqi civilians at least aren't getting slaughtered/starving to death in like the non-Arab-Sudanese.

Have some perspective.

If you are dying to study something during PGY1, try basic anatomy. Review the lobes of the lung, the couinaud system for lobes of the liver-- head and neck anatomy and skull base anatomy are tricky. That will give you a head start. However all of this will stick much better when you are actually reviewing real cases during the PGY2 year. Try to enjoy your PGY-1 year while you can, the road through radiology is long.

 

[MossPoh]

Thanks for clearing it up, Dox. I guess my point is that the vast majority of test takers will pass.


---
To those anxious types:

Seriously, a patient dying from one of your mistakes, being named in a lawsuit for a cancer you missed, those are things worth getting worked up about. The rest is small potatoes. Some of you guys need to seriously relax. Look at the big picture, even if you fail physics or writtens, SO WHAT?!?! You can retake the dam|\| test and still become a radiologist, have a fascinating career, make more than >95% of the rest of the people in this country, be the envy of many your colleagues in medicine. Its not the end of the world!

At least you aren't serving active duty in Iraq. Those guys have it rough. At least they have it better than the Iraqis. And the Iraqi civilians at least aren't getting slaughtered/starving to death in like the non-Arab-Sudanese.

Have some perspective.

If you are dying to study something during PGY1, try basic anatomy. Review the lobes of the lung, the couinaud system for lobes of the liver-- head and neck anatomy and skull base anatomy are tricky. That will give you a head start. However all of this will stick much better when you are actually reviewing real cases during the PGY2 year. Try to enjoy your PGY-1 year while you can, the road through radiology is long.

So you are saying I shouldn't start studying for my boards now as a premed? How WILL I ever become a radiologist. 😉

 

[H_Caulfield]

At least you aren't serving active duty in Iraq. Those guys have it rough. At least they have it better than the Iraqis. And the Iraqi civilians at least aren't getting slaughtered/starving to death in like the non-Arab-Sudanese.

Hans19,
Thanks for clearing up the whole Iraq thing for me. Lately I'd been wondering, quite specifically, whether it'd be worse to endure some radiology than to be slaughtered and starved like those non-Arab-Sudanese people. Now, of course, I know the answer. Now we all do.

In all seriousness, though, you offer lots of good advice on this board... albeit sometimes tangential and a wee-bit dramatic.

 

[FizbanZymogen]

Whenever I'm up late at night studying and need a good laugh I always pop over here to the Rads boards to read some of Hans posts. He knows His **** and he makes it freakin fun to read. Keep it up Hans (why aren't you a Mod?)

 

[brianmartin]

Kinda seems like the OP doesn't know what radiology is...asking whether they would "like radiology" if they "didn't like physics" as if the daily practice of radiology involves "doing physics."

 

[ukdoc74]

hans or anyone else with info. Since physics exam you just have to pass how about Step 3?

Assuming you have already matched into a radiology program how important is Step 3 for radiology? If you score a sub 190 (but still pass) on Step 3 is it looked down upon by the program? How would it affect your career.

Once again, radiation physics and newtonian physics have about as much in common as pickles and asphalt. The amount of calculus you have to know for the physics board is ZERO.

If you insist, its the Review of Radiation Physics by Huda that everyone uses. I strongly discourage you from even cracking the book until PGY2, cuz that book is B-O-R-I-N-G and is irrelevent to >99% of the day-to-day practice of medicine, and any time you spend between now and actually studying for it seriously during midway through your PGY 3 year is time wasted- time from your life you will never get back. Watching clips on Youtube, looking at porn, or even picking your nose-- any of those would be better uses of your time than studying for physics before PGY 3. You get the point.

Guys, its not that big a deal. If you guys did well enough to get into medical school and eventually match into radiology, physics should not be a problem for 83% (the vast majority) of you. Unfortunately the board exams are graded on a curve and the bottom 17% will fail.

If you can memorize random facts for a pre-clinical med school exam, you'll do fine on the written board. And folks, with the boards you don't have to worry about gunning for the A, all you have to do is pass (that means getting better than 17% ile). Its not that hard.

And if you've been paying attention the last 4 years and you put in the prep time, you ought to be able to pass the oral boards. Generations of residents did it before you, and generations will do it after you.

 

[f_w]

step3 pass: good
step3 no pass: no good

(you will need to pass step3 to graduate from residency and to obtain a full license. score irrelevant)

 

[Obedeli]

hey,

thanks for the response.

to clarify, what i wanted to know was whether i would be enjoying radiology as career (i.e. interesting field for me) if i hated doing college/premed physics. i did very well in the courses, but didn't like them.

i always assumed that rad. onc would be some combination of radiology + oncology. no?

Hated physics in college, really hated physics in radiology (very depressing summer studying for it). Passed physics 11/07. Really like radiology.

 

[hans19]

Hated physics in college, really hated physics in radiology (very depressing summer studying for it). Passed physics 11/07. Really like radiology.

Truly incredible -- you passed physics 11/07, and we're just midway through 10/07!!! How did you do it?😀

 

[Nauss99]

Truly incredible -- you passed physics 11/07, and we're just midway through 10/07!!! How did you do it?😀

Clearly the OP is much better at physics than they're letting on.

 

[osli]

Clearly the OP is much better at physics than they're letting on.

One of the best responses ever.

 

[Obedeli]

Truly incredible -- you passed physics 11/07, and we're just midway through 10/07!!! How did you do it?😀

It is incredible! Especially that I post on this forum in between interventional procedures 🙂 Guess things slip past me when I type in a hurry.

Nobody can knock my high from passing physics. I have loathed it since I found out I would have to take it. I devoted my entire summer to it and was not prepared to do it again. 👍