IMG interested in Rads: Should I do a Rads elective?

Started by NPA
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NPA

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I'm a 3rd year med student in Ireland and originally from the USA I'm interested in doing a residency in Diagnostic Radiology.

As an IMG, I need 3 letters of recommendation for residency apps from attendings during my US electives. I've read a bit about others' experiences with radiology electives and it seems like one in which it would be difficult to evaluate a student's performance, since these electives seem to be quite passive compared to most others. Some people have suggested I may better off doing other electives, such as neurosurg/gensurg/internal med, but I'm interested in hearing from people with some experience in this area and/or strong opinions on the matter.

A few focused questions: Would doing a radiology elective be:
a) necessary to demonstrate my interest?
b) helpful in getting interviews/scoring a residency spot?
c) actually helpful in confirming or reversing my aspirations to do Radiology?