M1 hoping to go into radiology

[CopperStripes]

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Hi radiologists,

I'm starting medical school in August. I've wanted to be a radiologist since the age of 15. I've volunteered in radiology departments, shadowed radiologists, and am now doing research in radiology; I think it's totally awesome, especially coming from an engineering background. I have also volunteered, shadowed, and tried a bit of research in other fields; they were definitely not as enjoyable for me.

I will certainly go in to med school with an open mind, ready to learn about all the other specialties. Yes, I realize it’s early on and I might change my mind.

However, I know that matching into radiology is tough and I want to start early doing well on exams, finding mentors in radiology, getting more involved in research, etc so that I can feel confident that I will match.

I feel like if I am proactive about my desire to be a radiologist from the very beginning, people will think I’m egotistical, want it for the money/lifestyle, and what have you. This is NOT true – I don’t care about the money or schedule, and I feel like I’ve gotten fairly adequate exposure to what work as a radiologist entails over the past several years. Should I keep my desire to myself for a while? Is there a way to make people take me seriously? I don’t want to blow my chances of matching into rads by spending my first couple years acting like I don’t know what specialty I want to pursue.

Thoughts? Advice? Thank you for your help.

 

[durfen]

Hi radiologists,

I'm starting medical school in August. I've wanted to be a radiologist since the age of 15. I've volunteered in radiology departments, shadowed radiologists, and am now doing research in radiology; I think it's totally awesome, especially coming from an engineering background. I have also volunteered, shadowed, and tried a bit of research in other fields; they were definitely not as enjoyable for me.

I will certainly go in to med school with an open mind, ready to learn about all the other specialties. Yes, I realize it’s early on and I might change my mind.

However, I know that matching into radiology is tough and I want to start early doing well on exams, finding mentors in radiology, getting more involved in research, etc so that I can feel confident that I will match.

I feel like if I am proactive about my desire to be a radiologist from the very beginning, people will think I’m egotistical, want it for the money/lifestyle, and what have you. This is NOT true – I don’t care about the money or schedule, and I feel like I’ve gotten fairly adequate exposure to what work as a radiologist entails over the past several years. Should I keep my desire to myself for a while? Is there a way to make people take me seriously? I don’t want to blow my chances of matching into rads by spending my first couple years acting like I don’t know what specialty I want to pursue.

Thoughts? Advice? Thank you for your help.

I'm the same way and going to be an M1. See other specialties first though, don't stick to one. You need to have a good idea about what the other specialties are doing as a radiologist and to some extent what they want from your reads.
My ADCOMs tended to assume that I'd be a radiologist based on my exposure, and it was a good thing I shadowed another specialty and talked about that during interviews.

 

[nutcancer]

Others will disagree I'm sure, but as a 4th year medical student, I would view your interest since the age of 15 as bull****. I became interested in radiology half way through my 3rd year when at the start of my medical school I scorned radiology as a boring field for nerds. I just find it really hard that since the age of 15, your dreams of being a radiologist is what pushed you to study so hard in college and get into medical school. Its not a very glamorous target for a teenager.

I guess I'm saying to you in a nice way : Don't tell anybody you want to be a radiologist -- Not even in 3rd year of medical school. Your interest may be sincere (although I doubt it) but anyone in medicine knows radiology is the field to go into because of the lifestyle/money and the fact that radiology drives modern medicine.

Let me guess, your daddy is a radiologist?

 

[CopperStripes]

Let me guess, your daddy is a radiologist?

Excuse me?! No; I’ll be the first doctor in my family.

And more importantly, I do not appreciate the insolent response. The question was not about whether or not I’ve wanted to be a radiologist since the age of 15. I’m providing that information as a fact, and I find it rude that you’re telling me it is bull****. I tried to explain that I don’t care about the lifestyle/money – and hence, the glamour. This was also true as a 15 year old. Not all teenage girls aspire to be pop stars, believe it or not.

 

[nutcancer]

Its not an insolent response. I hope you can take away from this that most people you tell you want to do radiology (including the people going into it or in it) will not really believe you. Learn from this and don't tell anybody you don't have to.

 

[colbgw02]

I feel like if I am proactive about my desire to be a radiologist from the very beginning, people will think I’m egotistical, want it for the money/lifestyle, and what have you. This is NOT true – I don’t care about the money or schedule, and I feel like I’ve gotten fairly adequate exposure to what work as a radiologist entails over the past several years. Should I keep my desire to myself for a while? Is there a way to make people take me seriously? I don’t want to blow my chances of matching into rads by spending my first couple years acting like I don’t know what specialty I want to pursue.

Thoughts? Advice? Thank you for your help.

You're not going to blow your chance at matching either way. Even if you shout it from the mountain tops, it's not like you're going to be ostracized by your classmates. And you certainly won't be ostracized by your school's radiology department. The radiology interest group president at my school was an MS2, and no one cared. Conversely, you won't lose much by keeping mum during pre-clinical years; after all, most folks don't decide on rads until 3rd year or later.

Honestly, this is a non-issue.

 

[durfen]

You're not going to blow your chance at matching either way. Even if you shout it from the mountain tops, it's not like you're going to be ostracized by your classmates. And you certainly won't be ostracized by your school's radiology department. The radiology interest group president at my school was an MS2, and no one cared. Conversely, you won't lose much by keeping mum during pre-clinical years; after all, most folks don't decide on rads until 3rd year or later.

Honestly, this is a non-issue.

I do not believe we have a RIG here, would it look good if I started one? :

 

[colbgw02]

I do not believe we have a RIG here, would it look good if I started one? 😀

I'm sure it would, but that particularly EC should not come at the expense of outstanding grades, a solid step I score, and some research as well.

 

[durfen]

I'm sure it would, but that particularly EC should not come at the expense of outstanding grades, a solid step I score, and some research as well.

Of course 🙄

 

[abefromann]

Eh, people probably will be alright with your decision if you tell them about radiology. However, you'll probably get a crapload of eyebrows from people and they might say, 'lifestyle, eh? nice.' My advice: screw them. One thing that annoys me about other students is how they have decided that their mission is to be irritatingly, and publicly altruistic. If they start judging you about doing radiology over some more servile specialty then you just have to know that it's probably because of some inadequacy in their own lives. I honestly don't see how your situation is any different from knowing you want to do family medicine or ob/gyn since you were 15. Who's to say what a person naturally likes and when they figure it out. There are plenty of people in my M4 class who still aren't sure, and just have a differential, so you're good.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

but anyone in medicine knows radiology is the field to go into because ...the fact that radiology drives modern medicine.

So that's a "bad" reason to aspire for a radiology residency?

 

[durfen]

So that's a "bad" reason to aspire for a radiology residency?

👍

 

[perrum365]

Copper,

Its sounds like you have some good background to see what life in the radiology world is like. (And most of what I'm about to say you already know and are actively doing. Way to go!) Early on get an advisor who is a radiologist and meet them with a couplathree times in your first year just to get acquainted. Hopefully its someone who will want to get to know you, and is into the mentoring thing. Be polite, chit chat, be likeable, and easy to get along with as I'm sure you are. Get to know the radiologists in the department at your school; look them in the eye, firm handshake and smile and all that. Just set yourself up to have relationships with people later on. Inquire about research projects after you've completed your first year of med school, show up to interest groups, say "hi doctor x!" if you pass them in the halls of the hospital/med school.

At the start of fourth year all you need is one, at the most two nice letters from radiologists to go out with your applications. Get those and a step one above 220, and not be in the bottom quarter of your class (which is very doable if you study like you should) and you'll match at a nice program somewhere and achieve your goal. Good luck! Its an excellent choice!

As far as what to tell people... Don't shy away from expressing your interest in radiology, but I would recommend having another specialty that you seriously think about as well. Have a differential and keep it all the way through third year. People won't give you much sass, and if they do, they are silly. Just do your thing.

 

[DocYuki]

I hope all 4th years aren't as immature as nutcancer. That was a nasty reply to the OP. Let a person aspire and dream! Nobody ever got anywhere without those good qualities.