How and when did you know?

[Textuality]

I was wondering how and when you knew that Radiology was the field for you?

I've always been attracted to radiology because I love to interpret and manipulate images (both in a digital sense and art sense) and I actively enjoy working with technology/computers etc. The emphasis on diagnostics in radiology is pretty cool, as is the physics behind a lot of the equipment. I've also met a few different radiology residents, and really liked the company. I don't know if those are legitimate reasons though? I mean, these are my rationalizations for liking Radiology, but in a way, I just have a gut attraction to it, lol. Should I start looking at it more closely or just chill till I can take an elective in it?

What are the biggest downsides to Radiology?

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[Regallo]

In the interview to get my residency , I've stated that I know how to program in C++ , the interviewers as if they understand that this is quiet not so far from their field , they asked what could I do with C++ in radiology , i replied talking about the PACS and 3D CT that need a little bit of understanding of programming.
I guess it is a strong point in your resume if you "actively enjoy working with technology/computers " as you've said.

 

[Textuality]

I always thought computer literacy should be phased into med school curriculum I know basic java programming, and some basic SQL from work with databases, but not even close to enough to apply to the programs they use to do fourier transforms for images, lol. But I do find all that stuff really interesting and would love to learn.

 

[Taurus]

3rd year med school. Patient care sucks. Doing inpatient care = terrible lifestyle. I actually started out med school wanting to do surgery. Look into radiology or anesthesiology. I would stay away from pathology because of dim job prospects. Derm or plastics are great if you can get into them.

 

[dphoenix]

Well I would say that you really don't know until you actually do a radiology rotation and are sitting in front of the computer interpreting exams. To be honest, the reasons you state for radiology are superficial, and really indicative that you have not had any real radiology experience yet. I think liking images, interpretation, and technology is really too general and applies to many other fields of medicine. Here are the characteristics that I really found make a radiologist, after being in the thick of things:

1) Enjoys the consultant role - this is a must, as you are at the whim of clinicians. Despite what others think or say, a radiologist plays a very different role than most clinicians, and is a consulting service at the core. You will constantly have to please clinicians, showing that you add value, as your income is solely reliant on referrals. So do you like making decisions or do you want the problem to come to you? For instance, you will never be able to say, hey this guy needs a lung biopsy lets do it, but rather it will always be up to the clinician.

2) Enjoys multiple specialties - most of the happy radiologists i've seen really enjoy thinking about all types of specialties, that is, like that they can do an OB ultrasound one minute, and then read out a head CT the next.

3) Enjoys long differentials - this is a must. I find that the best radiologists really enjoy coming up with everything under the sun that this finding might be, and talking about the clinical possibilities. This means even all those rare diagnoses that seem like such a pain to remember in med school. Because in the end, there is no enjoyment in interpreting negative studies, and in positive ones, you have to come up with differentials the clinician hasn't already thought of, or you add no value.

4) Enjoys anatomy - this should be obvious why

5) Enjoys the lifestyle - this one is a caveat, because lifestyle isn't what it used to be. If you do a search on radiology work hours, they work on average 58 hours/wk which is on par with most competitive specialties (cards, GI, ortho). But most radiologists I see get out by 5-6 pm so if this is important for you, kudos. But otherwise, fields like derm or FM have better hours.

6) Dislikes social contact with patients - almost all radiologists I have met, one unifying theme is that they really dislike patient care. Usually this is because of their personalities. However, disliking patient care is compatible with pathology and i would say surgery too in some sense, so this is not necessarily unique to radiology.

There are other reasons, but i think these are the core qualities. As a disclaimer, I must say that after doing radiology for 2 months, I have decided to pursue cardiology instead, because many of the qualities above do not fit my personality. In cards, you get to do a lot of imaging, a lot of interventional work, and at the same time control the patient and make all the decisions. Anyways, that's just my little plug, but both are great fields.

 

[Textuality]

Well I would say that you really don't know until you actually do a radiology rotation and are sitting in front of the computer interpreting exams. To be honest, the reasons you state for radiology are superficial, and really indicative that you have not had any real radiology experience yet. I think liking images, interpretation, and technology is really too general and applies to many other fields of medicine. Here are the characteristics that I really found make a radiologist, after being in the thick of things:

1) Enjoys the consultant role - this is a must, as you are at the whim of clinicians. Despite what others think or say, a radiologist plays a very different role than most clinicians, and is a consulting service at the core. You will constantly have to please clinicians, showing that you add value, as your income is solely reliant on referrals. So do you like making decisions or do you want the problem to come to you? For instance, you will never be able to say, hey this guy needs a lung biopsy lets do it, but rather it will always be up to the clinician.

2) Enjoys multiple specialties - most of the happy radiologists i've seen really enjoy thinking about all types of specialties, that is, like that they can do an OB ultrasound one minute, and then read out a head CT the next.

3) Enjoys long differentials - this is a must. I find that the best radiologists really enjoy coming up with everything under the sun that this finding might be, and talking about the clinical possibilities. This means even all those rare diagnoses that seem like such a pain to remember in med school. Because in the end, there is no enjoyment in interpreting negative studies, and in positive ones, you have to come up with differentials the clinician hasn't already thought of, or you add no value.

4) Enjoys anatomy - this should be obvious why

5) Enjoys the lifestyle - this one is a caveat, because lifestyle isn't what it used to be. If you do a search on radiology work hours, they work on average 58 hours/wk which is on par with most competitive specialties (cards, GI, ortho). But most radiologists I see get out by 5-6 pm so if this is important for you, kudos. But otherwise, fields like derm or FM have better hours.

6) Dislikes social contact with patients - almost all radiologists I have met, one unifying theme is that they really dislike patient care. Usually this is because of their personalities. However, disliking patient care is compatible with pathology and i would say surgery too in some sense, so this is not necessarily unique to radiology.

There are other reasons, but i think these are the core qualities. As a disclaimer, I must say that after doing radiology for 2 months, I have decided to pursue cardiology instead, because many of the qualities above do not fit my personality. In cards, you get to do a lot of imaging, a lot of interventional work, and at the same time control the patient and make all the decisions. Anyways, that's just my little plug, but both are great fields.

Thanks. I realize my reasons are pretty superficial. But they're all I have right now without doing it myself. I'll be shadowing them soon but still, not the same as doing myself. I think it just makes me a little jittery to think I might not know what I want to do until I almost have to apply to residency, lol.

 

[dphoenix]

I would say that just chill, and work hard towards learning good medicine, score well on your tests. But realize that you really won't know much of how these specialties really are until you at least do your 3rd year, and that's ok.

Keep an open mind about what you might do. I think that we all need to realize that radiology is attractive right now because of perceived compensation; this does not predict what radiology compensation will be like in the future, or specifically what your personal compensation will be in your future situation. There are many fields in which one can be successful, both financially and personally.

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

It's a gradual thing. It went from "Radiology is weird, who would go into that?" to "Radiology is kinda cool, to no way it's for me" to "Radiology is really cool, maybe I should keep it in the back of my mind" to "This is the only thing I want to do"

DPhoenix's post is pretty spot on for the reasons I came to that decision. I don't "Hate" direct patient care though...I just find it incredibly inefficient.