Does radiology feel like a constant hustle?

[vancoremed]

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I know the lifestyle in radiology can be good and having a decent schedule and time off can help prevent burnout. However I am worried that radiology may be too much of a hustle when you are on the job. For example just trying to get through as many cases per day in an 8+ hour time span one after another seems draining. Do you enjoy your time when you are at work?

 

[Cognovi]

I like the hustle. You're constantly cognitively engaged. You leave feeling accomplished.

 

[2brads]

It’s not busywork if that’s what you mean. Radiology requires long periods of deep concentration and focus. If you’re prone to spacing out or getting distracted then it’s not for you. For me, the time goes by relatively quickly. I might start a dictation and when I next look at the clock, 5 or 10 minutes may have gone by - sometimes more if I’ve been vacillating about a difficult diagnosis or homing in on a subtle finding. Procedures also make the time pass quickly. But such high cognitive loads can cause exhaustion so breaks and time off is important.

 

[Clean7795]

I know the lifestyle in radiology can be good and having a decent schedule and time off can help prevent burnout. However I am worried that radiology may be too much of a hustle when you are on the job. For example just trying to get through as many cases per day in an 8+ hour time span one after another seems draining. Do you enjoy your time when you are at work?

As a resident? The day work is relaxing in a way.

As a staff? The average rad is fine with day work as well.

Call is another beast. For both residents and attendings it will depend on your group's volume and how lean they want to run. You could be dying every single call shift but making an extra 120k/yr... or have a shift that feels like a daytime shift. IMO it is not worth running extra lean because that causes people to burn out but for some they prefer having that extra $.

 

[GoPelicans]

Betwene studying and on the job I am starting to feel completely mentally worn/burnout out. So ya it does feel like a constant hustle, at least at this point in the game. Hopefully in the future it will feel a little easier because a lot of days I wouldnt mind doing something more mindless.

 

[guytakingboards]

The day to day grind over all gets easier over time. As a fresh-out-training guy trying to make partner, my first year was pretty grind'y. I got faster and more efficient with both diagnostic work and procedures. Now three years in, the day to day is fairly decent. I now know how much i need to read to make my expected RVU's. Definitely not having to read at top speed for 8hr's straight. In fact, I tend to batch read for 1-1.5hr and then get up and walk around for 20-30min if nothing pressing is on the list.

If you're grinding for 8hr straight on a day job, you picked the wrong job.

That being said, while I enjoy parts of work.... it's still work. There are moments where I have to remind myself I'm getting paid pretty handsomely to sit in a quiet room and talk to a computer.

 

[shadowlightfox]

The day to day grind over all gets easier over time. As a fresh-out-training guy trying to make partner, my first year was pretty grind'y. I got faster and more efficient with both diagnostic work and procedures. Now three years in, the day to day is fairly decent. I now know how much i need to read to make my expected RVU's. Definitely not having to read at top speed for 8hr's straight. In fact, I tend to batch read for 1-1.5hr and then get up and walk around for 20-30min if nothing pressing is on the list.

If you're grinding for 8hr straight on a day job, you picked the wrong job.

That being said, while I enjoy parts of work.... it's still work. There are moments where I have to remind myself I'm getting paid pretty handsomely to sit in a quiet room and talk to a computer.

How many cases do you read per day on average?

 

[guytakingboards]

How many cases do you read per day on average?

I'm usually reading CT/MRI neuro only. On the outpatient side, that may be 45-50 cross-sectionals (mostly MRI) with a handful of plain films off the general list. On the hospital side, its usually 50-60 studies (usually CT's for trauma, stroke, etc) with a few LP/myelo's and a handful of spine radiographs.

 

[shadowlightfox]

I'm usually reading CT/MRI neuro only. On the outpatient side, that may be 45-50 cross-sectionals (mostly MRI) with a handful of plain films off the general list. On the hospital side, its usually 50-60 studies (usually CT's for trauma, stroke, etc) with a few LP/myelo's and a handful of spine radiographs.

Wait a sec, are you also including MRIs of the spine, too, since you said neuro only. Don't those take ridiculously long time to read through?

 

[GoPelicans]

Wait a sec, are you also including MRIs of the spine, too, since you said neuro only. Don't those take ridiculously long time to read through?

I imagine if you do a lot of spines they probably only take a few minutes each. It's the same 6-7 findings for every spine.

 

[guytakingboards]

Wait a sec, are you also including MRIs of the spine, too, since you said neuro only. Don't those take ridiculously long time to read through?

I imagine if you do a lot of spines they probably only take a few minutes each. It's the same 6-7 findings for every spine.

Yes that includes spine MRIs. Like GoPelicans said, when you read a lot of em its not as bad. degen spine is very formulaic to report. non-degen spine cases (e.g. trauma, infection, cancer) in my community shop tend to be mostly negative and quick to get through. Though, the positive ones are as bad as any other trainwreck.

 

[Cognovi]

Note that the above volume of ~50 neuro studies per day is above national average for annual wRVU, assuming a normal number of days worked.

 

[guytakingboards]

Note that the above volume of ~50 neuro studies per day is above national average for annual wRVU, assuming a normal number of days worked.

Correct. I'm in the 70 RVU/day range, which is above average.

 

[letmebe]

Man.. I’m having a hard time stying focused nonstop at work.. It’s so hard to be mentally wired when every other thing you scroll through you feel clueless about.. And when your reports are half wrong more than half the time.. And then you have to go back home and put an hour of studying which proved to be a lot more difficult than I initially thought.. I wish I could be on cruise control or feel like I’m caught up… I hate this constant feeling of being behind.. We’ll see how this plays out..

 

[guytakingboards]

Man.. I’m having a hard time stying focused nonstop at work.. It’s so hard to be mentally wired when every other thing you scroll through you feel clueless about.. And when your reports are half wrong more than half the time.. And then you have to go back home and put an hour of studying which proved to be a lot more difficult than I initially thought.. I wish I could be on cruise control or feel like I’m caught up… I hate this constant feeling of being behind.. We’ll see how this plays out..

Sounds like you’re an R1? First year’s tough. No doubt.

You’re learning both learning a skill from zero (image interpretation) plus trying to learn the clinical knowledge. It’s certainly challenging and a lot of people don’t like R1 year.

 

[2brads]

Sounds like you’re an R1? First year’s tough. No doubt.

You’re learning both learning a skill from zero (image interpretation) plus trying to learn the clinical knowledge. It’s certainly challenging and a lot of people don’t like R1 year.

Hopefully not an attending…

Although, I tend to get more focused when I don’t know what I’m looking at.

 

[vm26]

The day to day grind over all gets easier over time. As a fresh-out-training guy trying to make partner, my first year was pretty grind'y. I got faster and more efficient with both diagnostic work and procedures. Now three years in, the day to day is fairly decent. I now know how much i need to read to make my expected RVU's. Definitely not having to read at top speed for 8hr's straight. In fact, I tend to batch read for 1-1.5hr and then get up and walk around for 20-30min if nothing pressing is on the list.

If you're grinding for 8hr straight on a day job, you picked the wrong job.

That being said, while I enjoy parts of work.... it's still work. There are moments where I have to remind myself I'm getting paid pretty handsomely to sit in a quiet room and talk to a computer.

Great post. It can be a grind and often very isolating. There are some rotations where I can go the whole day without seeing or speaking to another human being (good for productivity but bad for various reasons). However as mentioned above, it's important to keep perspective given the amount that we are paid for our services.