Radiology study tips

[vet-in-progress]

I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how they studied for radiology in vet school. We just got our grades back for our first radiology exam, and I have to say it was my lowest grade I've ever gotten. Not that grades matter so much in the long run but there is obviously something I'm missing.

I've spent some time checking out some of the resources mentioned here previously such as VIN, Illinois, Thrall.

I was wondering how every one approached studying for radiology as feel absolutely lost and if there were any other amazing resources you've stumbled upon?

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[WildZoo]

We did radiology in the last section of our advanced anatomy course this past semester. We weren't tested on anything abnormal, just identifying normal structures, determining what type of view was provided, saying whether the image was from a cat or a dog, and a young or old animal, stuff like that.

Most important thing is to know your anatomy! As far as studying goes I just quizzed myself on the images we were given in class. CSU also has radiology sections on their virtual anatomy website http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/vetneuro/VCA3/vca.html

 

[vet-in-progress]

We did radiology in the last section of our advanced anatomy course this past semester. We weren't tested on anything abnormal, just identifying normal structures, determining what type of view was provided, saying whether the image was from a cat or a dog, and a young or old animal, stuff like that.

Most important thing is to know your anatomy! As far as studying goes I just quizzed myself on the images we were given in class. CSU also has radiology sections on their virtual anatomy website http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/vetneuro/VCA3/vca.html

I'll have to check that out! I suppose I should mention that we're being tested on diagnosing abnormalities and normal radiographs if that makes a difference on how you approach it.

 

[WildZoo]

I'll have to check that out! I suppose I should mention that we're being tested on diagnosing abnormalities and normal radiographs if that makes a difference on how you approach it.

I'm but a wee first year, so I'm no help for abnormalities just yet. I think if you see and recognize normal enough though, it becomes easier to tell if something is abnormal.

 

[LetItSnow]

I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how they studied for radiology in vet school. We just got our grades back for our first radiology exam, and I have to say it was my lowest grade I've ever gotten. Not that grades matter so much in the long run but there is obviously something I'm missing.

I've spent some time checking out some of the resources mentioned here previously such as VIN, Illinois, Thrall.

I was wondering how every one approached studying for radiology as feel absolutely lost and if there were any other amazing resources you've stumbled upon?

Depends. Are you asking howto improve your grade, or how to get better at reading rads? Those aren't necessarily the same thing.

I approached it by just accepting that my grade wasn't going to be awesome.

In the only sense that matters - your ability to use radiographs clinically - the only way to get good at them is to look at them. If I have a quiet shift, I go back and review other doctor's radiographs sometimes. We send the majority of our rads out for stat radiology reviews, so it works well - I can look at their rads, come to my conclusion, then read the radiologist interpretation. That's helped me get comfortable.

 

[LetItSnow]

We did radiology in the last section of our advanced anatomy course this past semester. We weren't tested on anything abnormal, just identifying normal structures, determining what type of view was provided, saying whether the image was from a cat or a dog, and a young or old animal, stuff like that.

Free quick bit of advice: Don't gloss over the whole "how to determine what type of view is provided".... I've had multiple cases of mis-marked radiographs where figuring out that the radiograph was mis-marked changed how I interpreted it. For instance, knowing how to tell a L lateral from a R lateral can make a big difference in interpreting the stomach, and not just on a GDV or something obvious like that.

 

[deleted498041]

I'm one of the lucky ones that never struggled at radiology in the classroom (or on clinics... yet), but that doesn't necessarily mean I'm good at radiology and what I've discovered is that it's just one of those things that makes vet med into life-long learning. When I started vet school, I decided I wanted to be good at radiology so I tried to see a little bit of it every single day. I looked at the CSU website, because their breakdown is amazing. I ended up investing in about 6-10 radiology texts that I use for various things. I also followed the FB page and get the emails from veterinaryradiology.net which are super helpful! Also, my school began (and then stopped, and then I pushed for it to start again. No idea if it's still a thing) radiology rounds where we reviewed films once a week as a group and it was all student-driven. Students were required to turn in a report in order to attend and we had to discuss our findings before the clinician leading the session would say anything.

As far as an actual method? I encourage you to write your own report (whether you physically write it or mentally) for whatever images you're studying before looking at what was actually found. Then, go back and try to find what you weren't able to see before. Things like identifying gastric axis and the milder presentations of intestinal obstruction are difficult for students to find at first so even thinking "Hmm, that doesn't look quite right," totally counts in the beginning! Your eye will get sharper with practice.

 

[vet-in-progress]

Thanks everyone these are great tips!

At this point I'd be happy with a passing grade in radiology, I know it's an important tool in practice, and ultimately I would like to get better at radiology. However, as it was mentioned it's a life long learning process, for now I'm just happy that you've all given me some tips on where to start.