Radiology general questions

[amikhchi]

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So, i've never really been involved in the rads forums... I'm an IMG and applied for EM (without backups) for this match, but only got 3 interviews and didn't match. I was lucky enough in an unlucky situation to SOAP into a radiology program. Now I know there is a huge difference in the two specialties. There is no doubt in my mind that I will grow to enjoy radiology, but I just wanted to know if people could talk about the general Pros/Cons to radiology? I didn't even know it was a 5 year residency until I got the SOAP interview.

While I know there is a huge element of variability depending on where you go for residency, how would you current residents describe the amount of free time or even days off you have (if that's possible to answer considering).

Excited about the years to come, I know radiology still has a decent lifestyle from what I know and they still make decent money (I hope; I'm from Southern California so I will be going back there eventually when done with residency).

Just a bit of shock considering how much everything has changed in a matter of 3 days (not looking forward to g-surg prelim but only a year so I guess it's not that big of a deal). Thanks

 

[TheTwits]

... I really hope you like. Radiology is miles different from EM.

However, there are some similarities such as a set schedule and "seeing" a lot of patients in a shift.

Pros:
Intellectually stimulating - like EM you need to know a lot about a lot, but radiology is a bit closer to pathology in this regard with more of a need to have visual pattern recognition abilities. You see puzzles all day.

Communication abilities - as a radiologist your entire job is to communicate to other physicians. You should be good at both written and spoken communication. I suppose this is somewhat similar to EM. Keeping reports concise and relevant to the ordering physician is what I hear other specialists talk about most frequently. As one of my business communication professors in college said, "It takes more work to be concise than verbose, but it is much more effective."

Little direct patient contact - this is a pro or a con depending on your preference. You will still spend your shifts talking to techs, other physicians, and occasionally patients during procedures here and there. This will be interspersed with periods of reading studies with others around as a resident and eventually perhaps by yourself depending on your practice setting as an attending.

Technology - changing all of the time. Few fields have seen progress like radiology in this regard. It will be exciting to see what the future holds.

Visually stimulating - you actually get to see disease. "Yep, that's a tumor." I remember being disenchanted with just following and attempting to correct numbers on a screen on other rotations such as internal medicine, etc.

Procedures - lots out there, and certain sub-specialties are centered around these even more (e.g. IR, mammo, MSK, neuro)

Cons:
Currently poor job market - jobs are there, but they may not be in big metroplexes. There's more money and more jobs in smaller towns. I hear these things are cyclical from people that have been around a lot. Regardless, EM is better off in this regard currently.

Uncertain reimbursement future - like in all of medicine. But increasingly the field is being commoditized.


Regardless, I hope you have really thought about your decision. You should try to get some exposure if you have some elective time. There's always a chance you can go EM again after your Gen Surg year if this is not right for you.

Personally, I love the field, and I am extremely excited to get started in July 2015.

Best of luck to you.