Firstvictor
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2018
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Where I'm at so far...
I am currently a registered radiologic technologst with credentials in radiology, cardiac intervention, and soon vascular intervention through the ARRT. I graduated in 2013 from a rad tech program with an AAS in radiologic technology, and currently work in two different cath labs that specialize in interventional radiology and cardiology, structural heart, and electrophysiology.
I've accumulated somewhere upwards of 1500 cases and 4 years experience, with dozens of STEMI cases, TAVRs, A-Fib ablations, coronary/peripheral atherectomy and CTO cases, and trauma embolization cases I've been directly scrubbed into to boot. I've gained experience from scrubbing, monitoring, and circulating during those years, and have worked directly besides cardiologists, vascular surgeons, urologists, ER docs, and radiologists. I am fairly compensated, in addition to the call pay, so much that should I choose I could live comfortably at this level for the rest of my life and be able to do most of what I wanted.
The cath lab director at one of the hospitals has told me, "You're very good, and I'd be happy to have you scrub into about any case that comes through that door." (high point in my professional career to be told that).
As far as a technologist is concerned, I've basically reached the peek of critical care in medicine, with the highest rate of pay, the most responsibility, and one of the most stable of job positions in a hospital. I'm 28 years old, and have completed all of my personal goals for a career I set for myself at high school graduation. I should be satisfied with where I am and what I have accomplished. But... I'm not.
I want more.
Let me explain what I mean by "more". I want to be that guy that gets to talk to the patient about their health, that gives them their "report card" on how they have moved through life and what lies on the horizon. I want to be that guy that who positions, deploys, and restores function/flow to a region of the body. I want to be that guy who goes in to "fix" something. I want to be that guy that CPR is in progress at 2 AM, arrive, and people be glad I'm there because that means there's a chance the patient can live.
I want to be that guy. I want to be a doctor. I want to fix things with my hands. I want to be an interventionalist.
So I went back to school to get my bachelors degree in Radiation and Imaging Science, and currently have just three quarters left till graduation. My current GPA is nothing to write home about at (roughly 3.2) due to a lackluster freshman year, but my grades have consistently been edging up.
As far as my personal life is concerned, single, with no real lock downs for mobility outside of my parents, brother, and close friends. My roommate consistently tells me that I'm laser focused on becoming a doctor to people we meet, but that is an over exaggeration. I'm laying here thinking about all that is before me and thinking "is it worth it?" I've got at minimum a year of post baccalaureate classes in front of me, the MCAT, wait list for med school, med school, residency, and fellowship. That's, at a minimum, 10 years... more realistically 12... I'll be 40, or there abouts, though with a chance at a sound career in front of me. Do I want to follow this road? Or should I be content at having people tell me what to do for the rest of my life instead of being on the decision making side? I'm conflicted. Whatever I decide, it will be what defines me as a person to those around me. I just don't want to be in my 70's and thinking "I should have become a doctor," and regret not being one for the rest of my life.
FV
I am currently a registered radiologic technologst with credentials in radiology, cardiac intervention, and soon vascular intervention through the ARRT. I graduated in 2013 from a rad tech program with an AAS in radiologic technology, and currently work in two different cath labs that specialize in interventional radiology and cardiology, structural heart, and electrophysiology.
I've accumulated somewhere upwards of 1500 cases and 4 years experience, with dozens of STEMI cases, TAVRs, A-Fib ablations, coronary/peripheral atherectomy and CTO cases, and trauma embolization cases I've been directly scrubbed into to boot. I've gained experience from scrubbing, monitoring, and circulating during those years, and have worked directly besides cardiologists, vascular surgeons, urologists, ER docs, and radiologists. I am fairly compensated, in addition to the call pay, so much that should I choose I could live comfortably at this level for the rest of my life and be able to do most of what I wanted.
The cath lab director at one of the hospitals has told me, "You're very good, and I'd be happy to have you scrub into about any case that comes through that door." (high point in my professional career to be told that).
As far as a technologist is concerned, I've basically reached the peek of critical care in medicine, with the highest rate of pay, the most responsibility, and one of the most stable of job positions in a hospital. I'm 28 years old, and have completed all of my personal goals for a career I set for myself at high school graduation. I should be satisfied with where I am and what I have accomplished. But... I'm not.
I want more.
Let me explain what I mean by "more". I want to be that guy that gets to talk to the patient about their health, that gives them their "report card" on how they have moved through life and what lies on the horizon. I want to be that guy that who positions, deploys, and restores function/flow to a region of the body. I want to be that guy who goes in to "fix" something. I want to be that guy that CPR is in progress at 2 AM, arrive, and people be glad I'm there because that means there's a chance the patient can live.
I want to be that guy. I want to be a doctor. I want to fix things with my hands. I want to be an interventionalist.
So I went back to school to get my bachelors degree in Radiation and Imaging Science, and currently have just three quarters left till graduation. My current GPA is nothing to write home about at (roughly 3.2) due to a lackluster freshman year, but my grades have consistently been edging up.
As far as my personal life is concerned, single, with no real lock downs for mobility outside of my parents, brother, and close friends. My roommate consistently tells me that I'm laser focused on becoming a doctor to people we meet, but that is an over exaggeration. I'm laying here thinking about all that is before me and thinking "is it worth it?" I've got at minimum a year of post baccalaureate classes in front of me, the MCAT, wait list for med school, med school, residency, and fellowship. That's, at a minimum, 10 years... more realistically 12... I'll be 40, or there abouts, though with a chance at a sound career in front of me. Do I want to follow this road? Or should I be content at having people tell me what to do for the rest of my life instead of being on the decision making side? I'm conflicted. Whatever I decide, it will be what defines me as a person to those around me. I just don't want to be in my 70's and thinking "I should have become a doctor," and regret not being one for the rest of my life.
FV
