Is Diagnostic Radiology Boring?

[HEME-ONC]

I have heard from so many people that a residency in Radiology is boring. Can anyone tell me what are the benefits of Radiology? Is it intellectually stimulating and challenging? What is the lifestyle like? what can you do after the residency?

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[russellb]

Originally posted by HEME-ONC
I have heard from so many people that a residency in Radiology is boring. 1)Can anyone tell me what are the benefits of Radiology?


2) Is it intellectually stimulating and challenging?

3) What is the lifestyle like?

4)what can you do after the residency?

1)It's intellectually stimulating and challenging. You see the best cases from every specialty. Our opinion is relied upon heavily by clinicians.

2) see above

3)Better than most other areas of medicine, although interventional radiology is a bit like surgery in terms of lifestyle.

4)You can choose an academic path and become involved in one of the most rapidly evolving areas in medicine. Or, you can go into private practice and earn a very healthy living.

 

[MacGyver]

Or, you could have your job stripped away by an overseas radiologist factory (cough....MGH)

 

[eddieberetta]

Originally posted by HEME-ONC
I have heard from so many people that a residency in Radiology is boring. Can anyone tell me what are the benefits of Radiology? Is it intellectually stimulating and challenging? What is the lifestyle like? what can you do after the residency?

This has to be one of the most ridiculous posts I have ever read. Radiology is a competitive specialty and most successful applicants could have easily matched to other very competitive specialties... the people entering the field do not think it is boring. Isn't it obvious that like any other field, some people will find it interesting and others will not? Don't you think some people (i.e. those entering the specialty, those likely to be posting on a "Radiology" forum) will think it is "stimulating and challenging?" Do you really need someone else to tell you whether a specialty is interesting? And is your medical school experience really so compromised that you don't know what radiologists "do after residency?"

Well let me help you out with that last question: they work as radiologists.

MacGyver: give it a rest. The erosion of professional standards is affecting every specialty and we have beaten that horse ad nauseum.

 

[carrigallen]

Originally posted by MacGyver
Or, you could have your job stripped away by an overseas radiologist factory (cough....MGH)

we should only allow film interpretations that say, "Made in America' 😀

 

[HEME-ONC]

Originally posted by eddieberetta
This has to be one of the most ridiculous posts I have ever read. Radiology is a competitive specialty and most successful applicants could have easily matched to other very competitive specialties... the people entering the field do not think it is boring. Isn't it obvious that like any other field, some people will find it interesting and others will not? Don't you think some people (i.e. those entering the specialty, those likely to be posting on a "Radiology" forum) will think it is "stimulating and challenging?" Do you really need someone else to tell you whether a specialty is interesting? And is your medical school experience really so compromised that you don't know what radiologists "do after residency?"

Well let me help you out with that last question: they work as radiologists.

MacGyver: give it a rest. The erosion of professional standards is affecting every specialty and we have beaten that horse ad nauseum.

 

[HEME-ONC]

I think it's really sad that you would reply in such an unprofessional manner. This website exists so that pre-med students, medstudents, and physicians can have questions answered. I guess you have never heard of the saying "There is no such things as a stupid question"

I hope that whoever regulates this website will not allow you from harrasing anyone further.

You've got a lot of maturing to do.

Good luck!!

Heme-ONC

 

[Voxel]

It's hard to have an understanding of radiology in general, appeal, intellectual stimulation, etc... until you have finished your 3rd year of medical school.

My dear HEME-ONC, if you go into any specialty forum and post a question in the manner you have done in your first, you will receive a lot of sacrastic and angry replies. Try it in the surgery forum and see what happens. Just replace the word radiology with surgery.

 

[eddieberetta]

Originally posted by HEME-ONC
I think it's really sad that you would reply in such an unprofessional manner. This website exists so that pre-med students, medstudents, and physicians can have questions answered. I guess you have never heard of the saying "There is no such things as a stupid question"

I hope that whoever regulates this website will not allow you from harrasing anyone further.

You've got a lot of maturing to do.

Good luck!!

Heme-ONC

Heme-ONC, the tone of your message was clearly provocative. Your motto "there is no such thing as a stupid question" will surely serve you well on your surgery rotations... be sure to ask them if their specialty is boring when you are scrubbed.

 

[Thewonderer]

Originally posted by eddieberetta
This has to be one of the most ridiculous posts I have ever read. Radiology is a competitive specialty and most successful applicants could have easily matched to other very competitive specialties... the people entering the field do not think it is boring. Isn't it obvious that like any other field, some people will find it interesting and others will not? Don't you think some people (i.e. those entering the specialty, those likely to be posting on a "Radiology" forum) will think it is "stimulating and challenging?"

1) Radiology has not always been that competitive. A year or two ago, you can still find some IMG's or FMG's as upper level residents.

2) I am sure some people going to radiology nowadays find it boring but are in for the money. Where there is money, there are always people who do it for the wrong reason (i.e. not due to interest). However, if the field is NOT competitive, then I am sure that some people go into it because it turns out to be their back-up specialty. Therefore, it is a shame that all specialties are filled with some people who go into them for the wrong reasons.

 

[bcdnw]

Working in a hospital part time that employs no one that seems to have a real understanding of what a interventional radiologist does, I was curious if someone could - very briefly - explain what this is? From what I have gleaned, it seems like a great way of applying radiology expertise in a more direct person-to-person setting, but I could be off. Thanks in advance for responses.

 

[eddieberetta]

We are straying from the main theme of this thread, which was about a medical student coming into a Radiology forum and asking us whether our chosen specialty was, or was not, in fact, boring...

However, in answer to your question see
http://www.sirweb.org/patPub/whatIsAnIR.shtml

Interventional Radiology is 21st Century Medicine
Interventional radiology is a rapidly growing area of medicine. Interventional radiologists are physicians who specialize in minimally invasive, targeted treatments performed using imaging guidance. Interventional radiology procedures are an advance in medicine that replace open surgical procedures. They are generally easier for the patient because they involve no large incisions, less risk, less pain and shorter recovery times.

What is interventional radiology?
Interventional radiologists (IRs) use their expertise in reading X-rays, ultrasound and other medical images to guide small instruments such as catheters (tubes that measure just a few millimeters in diameter) through the blood vessels or other pathways to treat disease percutaneously (through the skin). These procedures are typically much less invasive and much less costly than traditional surgery.

Who are interventional radiologists?
Interventional radiologists are medical doctors who have specialized in doing medical procedures that involve radiology. Radiologists use imaging equipment such as X-rays, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) to diagnose disease. IRs are board certified radiologists that are fellowship trained in percutaneous interventions using guided imaging. Their specialized training is certified by the America Board of Medical Specialties.

..... etc. etc.

Common Interventional Procedures
Angiography
An X-ray exam of the arteries and veins to diagnose blockages and other blood vessel problems; uses a catheter to enter the blood vessel and a contrast agent (X-ray dye) to make the artery or vein visible on the X-ray.

Balloon angioplasty
Opens blocked or narrowed blood vessels by inserting a very small balloon into the vessel and inflating it. Used by IRs to unblock clogged arteries in the legs or arms (called peripheral vascular disease or PVD), kidneys, brain or elsewhere in the body.

Biliary drainage and stenting
Uses a stent (small mesh tube) to open up blocked ducts and allow bile to drain from the liver.

Central venous access
Insertion of a tube beneath the skin and into the blood vessels so that patients can receive medication or nutrients directly into the blood stream or so blood can be drawn.

Chemoembolization
Delivery of cancer-fighting agents directly to the site of a cancer tumor; currently being used mostly to treat cancers of the endocrine system, including melanoma and liver cancers.

Embolization
Delivery of clotting agents (coils, plastic particles, gel, foam, etc.) directly to an area that is bleeding or to block blood flow to a problem area, such as an aneurysm or a fibroid tumor in the uterus.

Fallopian tube catheterization
Uses a catheter to open blocked fallopian tubes without surgery; a treatment for infertility.

Gastrostomy tube
Feeding tube inserted into the stomach for patients who are unable to take sufficient food by mouth.

Hemodialysis access maintenance
Use of angioplasty or thrombolysis to open blocked grafts for hemodialysis, which treats kidney failure.

Needle biopsy
Diagnostic test for breast, lung and other cancers; an alternative to surgical biopsy.

Radiofrequency (RF) ablation
Use of radiofrequency (RF) energy to Acook@ and kill cancerous tumors.

Stent
A small flexible tube made of plastic or wire mesh, used to treat a variety of medical conditions (e.g., to hold open clogged blood vessels or other pathways that have been narrowed or blocked by tumors or obstructions).

Stent-graft
Reinforces a ruptured or ballooning section of an artery (an aneurysm) with a fabric-wrapped stent C a small, flexible mesh tube used to "patch" the blood vessel. Also known as an endograph.

Thrombolysis
Dissolves blood clots by injecting clot-busting drugs at the site of the clot.

TIPS (transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt)
A life-saving procedure to improve blood flow and prevent hemorrhage in patients with severe liver dysfunction.

Uterine artery embolization
An embolization procedure of uterine arteries to stop life- threatening postpartum bleeding, potentially preventing hysterectomy. The same procedure is used to treat fibroid tumors and is then called UFE (Uterine Fibroid Embolization).

Uterine fibroid embolization
An embolization procedure of uterine arteries to shrink painful, enlarged, benign tumors in the uterus, also called UAE (Uterine Artery Embolization).

 

[eddieberetta]

Originally posted by Thewonderer
1) Radiology has not always been that competitive. A year or two ago, you can still find some IMG's or FMG's as upper level residents.

Sure, but not in top-tier programs (unless they are the very competitive FMG type). Radiology has alway been relatively competitive and it has never been on the easy list. Granted, it is the most competitive right now that it has ever been. The point is that people entering it today likely had their choice of a number of specialties and settled on rads.

Originally posted by Thewonderer
2) I am sure some people going to radiology nowadays find it boring but are in for the money. Where there is money, there are always people who do it for the wrong reason (i.e. not due to interest). However, if the field is NOT competitive, then I am sure that some people go into it because it turns out to be their back-up specialty. Therefore, it is a shame that all specialties are filled with some people who go into them for the wrong reasons.

Well, I have to disagree with you in part. While I agree finance may play a role for some, I doubt people who actively found it boring would choose the specialty (certainly I haven't met any radiology residents that said their specialty was boring). But I agree with ya that it is sad that for whatever reason, people do not always choose the specialty that interests them the most.

 

[Whisker Barrel Cortex]

To me radiology is, by far the most interesting specialty to be in. This view is shared by most if not all of my radiology collegues. Radiology involves constant critical reasoning, deduction, and reading. You get to see and advise clinicians on all of the most interesting patients in the hospital in EVERY specialty (you'd be surpised how many clinicians think that their service gives us the majority of business). You use and are an expert in the most advanced technology in the hospital.

Compare that to some of the clinical specialties (I can use internal medicine as an example since I did an internship in it) where the majority of time is spent running around doing non-educational, non-interesting work and dealing with social issues (which may be interesting to some). You get to spend 5-15 minutes with each patient as your "patient interaction." You take care of 10 inpatients at a time and only 10% of the time is there anything interesting to learn (unless you find acute exacerbation of chronic pain in an intoxicated alcoholic cirrhotic with massive ascites to be a great learning case).

Just my views. Many in other specialties will disagree and may find radiology boring. I'm just glad that I love it.

 

[OrthoFixation]

As someone with no IR exposure yet, I appreciate the quick tutorial above.

Ease up on the original poster, even is the question was out of line and offensive. The content is interesting to many.