Assuming that this is a genuine question and not another clumsy attempt to start a flame war I will try to give you some brief and incomplete answers :
> Do they get paid per film reading or do they get paid a salary from
> the hospital?
Both.
- Radiologists are typically part of a physician group. The group bills the patients insurance for each individual interpretation. The individual radiologist either gets a salary (if he is still an employee), or a share in the groups profits (if he is a shareholder/partner).
- Rarely, the hospital will bill for the radiologist services and pay him a salary.
- At times radiologists will be employees of HMO's, hired to provide services for their subscribers.
> Also, do you think the demand for rads will grow in the future
> b/c of the elderly pop needing more test and scans run?
Yes.
But:
How much is anyones guess. In the early nineties there were projections of a radiologist surplus, the SAME authors now project an tremendous shortage. They were dead wrong then, and I have strong doubts that they are correct now.
Every job market is cyclical. Don't let the current favourable situation blind you towards other worthwhile pursuits in medicine. If you are genuinely interested in the field, don't put too much weight on doomsday scenarios floating around on this type of bulletin board.
