Need for radiology elective

Started by tenau12
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

tenau12

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Do you need a radiology elective to get into a radiology program? Answer should theoretically be yes. Still, I just want to check.
In general, how many letters of recommendations do you need from radiologists for a radiology residency program?
 
well you'd probably want to do a rads elective if you were interested in the field am I right?? Heck how would you know it was right for you 100% if you didn't even spend a month doing it yourself?

I was told that a rads letter is not necessary unless you work very closely with a faculty member for an extended length of time, otherwise the letter will be generic and not very helpful. Medicine or surgery letters are sought after. I am sure one will not hurt though. Just make sure to get letters from rotations where your work ethic and knowledge are clearly known by the attending.
 
Do whatever you want, it's a free country.

Well as I said a rads letter is not bad but not necessarily great if the faculty member didn't know you that well. So, OP, do a rads elective. Try to get to know a faculty member so you can get a letter, but don't get one if you hardly interacted with the person just to have one - this is kinda common sense... I was told specifically at least one medicine or surgery LOR ideally from a sub-I.
 
Well as I said a rads letter is not bad but not necessarily great if the faculty member didn't know you that well. So, OP, do a rads elective. Try to get to know a faculty member so you can get a letter, but don't get one if you hardly interacted with the person just to have one - this is kinda common sense... I was told specifically at least one medicine or surgery LOR ideally from a sub-I.

If you read the thread I referenced, you'd find many posts from program directors telling you the ideal balance of letters (one rads research, one rads, one medicine, one surgery). Good luck scheduling a medicine or surgery sub-I early in the year when you're not doing medicine or surgery, especially with mspe release being advanced to oct 1 next year.