Quit RADS or finish?

[TroubleNparadis]

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At a tough juncture and I thought I'd poll the masses. I'm a PGY2 at a reputable Northeast Radiology program and I've come to the realization that I may have chosen the wrong field. The main problem is the lack of meaningful patient contact which is simply insufficient even in IR and the inability to be the primary source of care. I did my intern year in surgery and suspected then that the absence of these factors would be a real problem but I thought Radiology deserved a chance seeing as how I worked so hard to obtain a position. That being said, I'm not sure that leaving is the right move. I really like radiology and enjoy working with the staff and faculty at my program. I think i'd rather complete what I started and then apply to Emergency medicine, a field as broad and heavily reliant on imaging. I think what I learn in radiology will serve me and my patients greatly in the future and may also allow me some career diversity in working per diem in Radiology.

Can this be done? I've searched high and low and have yet to find someone who has taken this unorthodox course. Are there unforeseen obstacles that I may be neglecting? Will I be able to obtain funding for a second residency? Will PD in ED programs show any interest in this sort of applicant? I should add that I'd be willing to go anywhere as I am currently single and not really tied down all that much. I appreciate any thoughts. Thank you.

 

[curious1x]

Dude stay, stay, stay!!
I am in em pp looking to get the heck out of the ed.
Trust me on this,
Pm if like, I can give you more specific reasoning.
Regards

 

[Dr. USMLE]

The main problem is the lack of meaningful patient contact which is simply insufficient even in IR and the inability to be the primary source of care.

Have you considered mammo? Plenty of pt contact there. Also, many IR practices have a very clinical model now out of necessity due to encroachment by vascular and cards. Would a few days of IR clinic a week scratch your itch? Despite having almost finished your R1, it seems like you haven't been exposed to enough in rads to make an informed decision. I would dig into all of the different practice types and how clinical IR can truly be. I would also post this in the Rads forum to get more informed opinions.

 

[DocDanny]

Did you ever do any rotations in Radiology M3 or M4 year?

I never have understood how can be surprised by what an entire field would be like.

You have options. Just try to think of what options you'll have once this residency is done.

 

[tardis]

There are many ways to make a Rads career more patient centered, mammo, women's health, IR, ultrasound, nuclear medicine. Keep in mind that practice models at your centre may not be the only ones, and there may be one that fits you better. If you can get through a radiology residency, you could probably find a place to do ER afterwards.
Honestly I've seen many ER docs who have gone into rads after burning out, but I've never seen a radiologist burn out and decide ER was his best solution.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[TroubleNparadis]

Thank you all. I appreciate you taking the time to reply

 

[HondoCrouch]

Plenty of patient contact in mammo.

 

[blue2000]

Our IR guys at a large university practice did a lot of liver interventions (TACE, etc) and would participate in liver tumor conference, see patients in clinic, etc. A lot of IR practices are merely procedure oriented, but there are a lot of different models.

In my small town, the radiologists choose to have a lot of contact with patients. Breast imaging by it's nature is very patient-contact heavy, and I've also had them go over complex imaging with patients directly.

Clearly, I don't know all your story, but my inclination would be to stick it out and figure out which practice model fits you best at the end. There are a ton of different models for rads practice and I bet you can find one that suits you.

 

[gutonc]

Our IR guys at a large university practice did a lot of liver interventions (TACE, etc) and would participate in liver tumor conference, see patients in clinic, etc. A lot of IR practices are merely procedure oriented, but there are a lot of different models.

Our IR group is similar. They admit their own patients after procedures and for complications. They have their own clinic for pre- and post-procedure evaluation and, at least in the HCC crowd, they will often be primary on patients.

But this is not the norm for IR groups, especially non-academic.

 

[DebDynamite]

You know those "specialty for your personality " tests you can take as a med student? I don't recall where they exist, but I am sure you can find them online... My point is that, when I took those tests, my results repeatedly showed that I would be happiest, by far, in EM. Second was psych, then everything else was far behind. I ended up choosing psych because there were a couple aspects of EM I could not ever see myself dealing with in the long term- #1 working nights after the age of 50, and #2 zero continuity of care with "compliant" patients (sure there are FF's but those pts may or may not be the type you want to see again and again). In the end I have zero regrets, but even now I am tweaking psych for the "future" by securing a forensics fellowship. I can see a day where I will want to deliver direct patient care 1-2 days a week and work only as a consultant the rest of the time. My point being that, I would really recommend you carefully examine all the ways you can tweak your training to do what you want to in your field ( as your colleagues have recommended). Patient care is great, but at the end of the day, it is still a job.

 

[bopper]

Here is a blog post about someone who switched from a Peds residency to Anesthesia.
http://theunderweardrawer.blogspot.com/2004/07/switch-has-anyone-else-had-any-trouble.html