I am considering rads. I would like to get the perspective from female radiologist residents on what drew you to this specialty, if you had any concerns/problems with the lifestyle in residency (particularly for women who want/have children), and if you ever felt like the residency/attending environment held advantages/disadvantages for women. I'd like to get the skinny on rads from a female perspective, job satisfaction, and if one considered another specialty, etc.. I have also been interested in path, but I'm leaning more towards rads. Nevertheless, I have noticed that radiology, atleast at my school, seems to mostly attract males, not females. I have also checked out class composites of many programs, and the rads is very male dominated. This does not seem to be the case in pathology, which seems to equitably attract males and females. Why is this so?
Female Radiology Residents
- Thread starter Siamese
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I'm not female, but I know that the University of Maryland's program is sort of known for having quite a few number of women. Many of them have commented that having lots of other female residents drew them to the program. If you're interested in that part of the country, then it's something to consider. Good luck.
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There was a thread on women in radiology that has now apparently disappeared - not sure why someone would delete it, it was a very interesting and on-the-topic discussion, but I'll post it here if it shows up - it should be titled 'women in radiology'
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Hi Siamese, I'm not a radiology resident yet but I am a female senior medical student applying for rads residency this year and I had similar questions/concerns at the outset of my career decision. The relative shortage of women entering the field of radiology is actually a topic of significant interest and investigation right now. Many people in academia are questioning how the number of women entering rads could be down in recent years when the number of women entering medical school has been steadily increasing. There are several publications addressing this issue in a number of radiological journals - just search PubMed - but what the research tells me is that radiology suffers just like many other science, math, and technology heavy fields like engineering and physics do. These disciplines are still working against decades of societal influence that has funneled women into softer, lighter, more nurturing disciplines. As a result, rads today can still feel like a bit of a boys' club and with so few female rads role models to look up to, this can be a negative influencing factor to female medical students.
Personally, I have never felt like the odd woman out in rads and I do not understand why more women don't consider radiology when overall your call load is less, your schedule is more flexible, you're constantly challenged intellectually, and despite the perception that a career in radiology means sitting alone in a dark room, you have considerable patient contact in IR, peds rads, nuclear medicine, and women's imaging. Not to mention you make (really) good money. I was debating between OB/GYN and radiology, which is probably not common, but I always had an inkling that rads was for me. I loved my DR rotation in third-year through nucs and peds and IR and then when I learned of women's imaging I was sold.
Good luck tracking down a female radiologist for more insight, but just so you know, the ones that I've talked to are very happy with their decision!
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I'm a female R3 in radiology residency now. So my 2 cents for this topic:
I think that the technological nature of the field tends to be less attractive for women, who (and this is just a broad, sweeping generalization and again may not be true for everyone) as a group tend to enjoy specialties that are more nurturing and have more patient contact. But yes, from a practical perspective, for a woman who desires a family and ample time for raising kids and having a life outside medicine - radiology definitely makes that all possible. You probably wouldn't be making as much money, but you would still be making a great living for the hours worked.
My program used to have a relatively equal number of women and men in each class, but this has changed recently. The two classes below mine have only male residents, and when I am in my R4 year I will be one of only 2 female residents in the entire program. I don't mind this, in fact in some ways it's a bit of an advantage - but I can also see how this kind of situation may seem intimidating. The other question to ask yourself is this: in radiology, you spend a lot of time working closely with attendings (most of whom are male) and with your co-residents (who may also be mostly male) in close quarters (dark reading room). Would this make you uncomfortable? If the answer is yes, then pathology may be the way to go.
I think that the technological nature of the field tends to be less attractive for women, who (and this is just a broad, sweeping generalization and again may not be true for everyone) as a group tend to enjoy specialties that are more nurturing and have more patient contact. But yes, from a practical perspective, for a woman who desires a family and ample time for raising kids and having a life outside medicine - radiology definitely makes that all possible. You probably wouldn't be making as much money, but you would still be making a great living for the hours worked.
My program used to have a relatively equal number of women and men in each class, but this has changed recently. The two classes below mine have only male residents, and when I am in my R4 year I will be one of only 2 female residents in the entire program. I don't mind this, in fact in some ways it's a bit of an advantage - but I can also see how this kind of situation may seem intimidating. The other question to ask yourself is this: in radiology, you spend a lot of time working closely with attendings (most of whom are male) and with your co-residents (who may also be mostly male) in close quarters (dark reading room). Would this make you uncomfortable? If the answer is yes, then pathology may be the way to go.
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It DOES exist! The Women in Radiology Thread.
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Thanks for your insights, radbug. Just curious, but how do you feel that maternity leave is regarded in a male-dominated radiology residency? I don't know if I'll have any children during residency, but just in case I don't want to alienate all my colleagues and be the bad guy because I'm the only female.
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I'm a male radiology resident, however I have something of a handle on some of your questions.
1. Maternity leave: At most programs there is maternity (and even a shorter paternity) leave. That said, you usually have to make up your missed calls, or at least that was the case at my program. So at the end of the day you should end up even with your male and non-pregnant female colleagues regarding days of call. Thus, there shouldn't be any animosity regarding pregnancy and call schedules. Also, btw, the female residents all worked throughout most of their pregnancy, just not late into pregnancy or shortly afterwards.
2. Radiology as a flexible, family friendly specialty: Definitely. If you want to work part-time, or be at a place where you don't take call, you can do so and often earn salaries higher than FP full time.
3. Radiology as an "easy lifestyle" specialty: Less and less true, and is not even in the same league as pathology. The pay is still great, but as far as day to day work goes it keeps getting busier. Over the past 10-15 years imaging volume has exploded. Radiologists produce in the top 5 or so RVU's (relative value units, is a metric that compares productivity accross different medical fields) meaning that radiologists actually do 'more' than most other doctors, stereotypes excluded. Especially when you are a resident and have to take call you'll discover that you don't have much down time.
4. Why the high male to female ratio in radiology?: This is above my pay grade. That said, I do think that it is an advantage to your application chances if you are a female. My program straight up said it wanted more female residents and even ranked more female applicants but still didn't do as well as it would have liked.
1. Maternity leave: At most programs there is maternity (and even a shorter paternity) leave. That said, you usually have to make up your missed calls, or at least that was the case at my program. So at the end of the day you should end up even with your male and non-pregnant female colleagues regarding days of call. Thus, there shouldn't be any animosity regarding pregnancy and call schedules. Also, btw, the female residents all worked throughout most of their pregnancy, just not late into pregnancy or shortly afterwards.
2. Radiology as a flexible, family friendly specialty: Definitely. If you want to work part-time, or be at a place where you don't take call, you can do so and often earn salaries higher than FP full time.
3. Radiology as an "easy lifestyle" specialty: Less and less true, and is not even in the same league as pathology. The pay is still great, but as far as day to day work goes it keeps getting busier. Over the past 10-15 years imaging volume has exploded. Radiologists produce in the top 5 or so RVU's (relative value units, is a metric that compares productivity accross different medical fields) meaning that radiologists actually do 'more' than most other doctors, stereotypes excluded. Especially when you are a resident and have to take call you'll discover that you don't have much down time.
4. Why the high male to female ratio in radiology?: This is above my pay grade. That said, I do think that it is an advantage to your application chances if you are a female. My program straight up said it wanted more female residents and even ranked more female applicants but still didn't do as well as it would have liked.
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This is true. I received a post-match email from UMich asking if I had a problem with the program or felt uncomfortable interviewing there --- they only matched 1 female this year.
http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/cgi/content/full/238/3/767
I came across this study while researching radiology as a specialty choice. It was a bit concerning. It would appear that female radiologists are not too happy with their specialty choice. Any other people have similar personal experience/feelings or know of female radiologists who feel this way?
I came across this study while researching radiology as a specialty choice. It was a bit concerning. It would appear that female radiologists are not too happy with their specialty choice. Any other people have similar personal experience/feelings or know of female radiologists who feel this way?
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Yes it was an interesting study---I know of some radiology residents who are female who miss the patient contact etc. However, I know of many who LOVE it. I think it is up to your personality---keep in mind radiology is more technology oriented, objective-data oriented and less so on the direct patient care aspect. You will always be a consultant and not a coordinator of a patient's care. The female (and male) radiologists I know who don't like their jobs mention they miss being a patient's doctor where in radiology, you are a "doctor's doctor"
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Actually, in many path residencies there are core rotations like surgical pathology in which people hit the 80 hour limit at times.
Hey guys,
I'm a 3rd year female medical student looking to explore my options for residency-including Radiology
I've enjoyed reading your posts. I was wondering where the residents found information on programs' eligibility requirements? I understand that programs have a 'bar score' to pass before your application is even looked at. What resources can help me determine if I am a good applicant? Thanks for your help!!!
Sara
I'm a 3rd year female medical student looking to explore my options for residency-including Radiology
I've enjoyed reading your posts. I was wondering where the residents found information on programs' eligibility requirements? I understand that programs have a 'bar score' to pass before your application is even looked at. What resources can help me determine if I am a good applicant? Thanks for your help!!! Sara
