Residency without radiation exposure

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mayonnaise_clinic

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Hello
I am an IMG and planning my residency application within a few years.
Considering my family history and medical conditions that I have, I have to limit the radiation exposure to minimum throughout my life. (as anyone should)
I am looking for a residency program with no or minimum radiation exposure. The first thing comes to my mind is FM.
Just wondering if there are other residency programs that I am not aware of with none ~ minimum radiation exposure.
Thank you!

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Hello
I am IMG and planning my residency application within few years.
Considering my family history and medical conditions that I have, I have to limit the radiation exposure to minimum throughout my life. (as anyone should)
I am looking for a residency program with no or minimum radiation exposure. The first thing comes to my mind is FM.
Just wondering if there are other residency program that I am not aware of that has none ~ minimum radiation exposure.
Thank you!

To clarify - you're trying to choose which SPECIALTY has minimal radiation exposure. Not which individual residency program.

Any specialty with minimal OR time with also have minimal radiation exposure. Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Dermatology. Internal medicine subspecialties like rheumatology or endocrinology. OB/gyn may have some on certain rotations. Internal medicine may have some on certain rotations.

Obviously radiation oncology, radiology, and specialties that use a lot of fluoroscopy are out.
 
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To clarify - you're trying to choose which SPECIALTY has minimal radiation exposure. Not which individual residency program.

Any specialty with minimal OR time with also have minimal radiation exposure. Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Dermatology. Internal medicine subspecialties like rheumatology or endocrinology. OB/gyn may have some on certain rotations. Internal medicine may have some on certain rotations.

Obviously radiation oncology, radiology, and specialties that use a lot of fluoroscopy are out.
Thank you for your reply. I was torn between FM and IM. But IM has certain rotations with radiation exposure (e.g., cardio intervention) so I was leaning toward FM. Would you say FM residency programs in US generally have no ~ minimal radiation exposure? (My only USCE experience is IM so I am not sure how FM residency program works.)
 
Thank you for your reply. I was torn between FM and IM. But IM has certain rotations with radiation exposure (e.g., cardio intervention) so I was leaning toward FM. Would you say FM residency programs in US generally have no ~ minimal radiation exposure? (My only USCE experience is IM so I am not sure how FM residency program works.)

I’m in family medicine. There’s basically zero radiation exposure in your typical family medicine residency.
 
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Thank you for your reply. I was torn between FM and IM. But IM has certain rotations with radiation exposure (e.g., cardio intervention) so I was leaning toward FM. Would you say FM residency programs in US generally have no ~ minimal radiation exposure? (My only USCE experience is IM so I am not sure how FM residency program works.)
I had literally zero in residency
 
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I trained IM and had zero radiation exposure... it’s not like you are in a cath as a resident unless you are looking to do cards and trying to get in good with the attendings.
 
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I'm EM and I had very very little exposure as a resident. A handful of fluoro exposures when on an orthopedics rotation or when doing some C-arm work in the ED (very rare. Did this maybe twice in 3 years). Got an xray of my hand as I was holding a tenuous ETT for a CXR on a patient that had just been criced. Aside from that, none that I can recall.
I've had no work related radiation exposure as an attending.
 
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You're getting more annual background radiation just living than you would ever get additionally being a physician in almost all medical fields. If you're worried about this you primarily want to avoid nuclear medicine and fluoro procedures (interventional cardiology, IR, ortho etc). Won't get into hormesis here.

Otherwise you might as well never fly on an airplane, never eat bananas, check every place you live/work regularly for radon, etc etc. If you're too concerned about these things you may want to consider talking to a psychologist/psychiatrist (if you have a true phobia that is impeding your career decisions/life). If not, best wishes and carry on.
 
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Obviously radiation oncology, radiology, and specialties that use a lot of fluoroscopy are out.

Most radiation oncologists get no exposure either. Seems crazy I know, but it's true. Most external beam radiation is done with a linear accelerator that is only turned on when the treatment team is on the other side of a thick shielded wall. Also, most brachytherapy is given after catheters are placed into a patient by the radiation oncologist and the radiation oncologist leaves the shielded room. A machine called an afterloader positions the highly radioactive treatments into the patient through the catheters and retracts the source into a shielded vault in the machine once prescribed treatment is complete.
 
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Except for two weeks on radiology where we wore lead for any procedures, I don’t think I’ve ever been exposed to radiation as an IM resident.
 
I did IM and the closest I got to the cath lab was when a Cards fellow had me sit at the computer outside and write an H&P for him while he went to the cath lab :rolleyes:.

I did go down to IR and put on some lead once but that was because the oncology attending wanted to for some reason and I wanted to do oncology, I don’t think anyone else had that experience.
 
You're getting more annual background radiation just living than you would ever get additionally being a physician in almost all medical fields. If you're worried about this you primarily want to avoid nuclear medicine and fluoro procedures (interventional cardiology, IR, ortho etc). Won't get into hormesis here.

Otherwise you might as well never fly on an airplane, never eat bananas, check every place you live/work regularly for radon, etc etc. If you're too concerned about these things you may want to consider talking to a psychologist/psychiatrist (if you have a true phobia that is impeding your career decisions/life). If not, best wishes and carry on.

I had far more exposure in med school than in residency, but honestly a single region CT will probably be more exposure than you get in most residencies that aren't among the "high exposure" categories described above.

That said, you probably should check places you live/work regularly for radon, and if its high, you should probably have a mitigation system if you don't already. I also prefer quartz or vinyl counter tops to granite for this reason. I don't think these are particularly pathological considerations. Why wouldn't you choose to reduce exposure within reason? Sure, the likelihood that you die from a radiation associated malignancy is likely low, but if you have the choice, why not? I'm still eating bananas though.
 
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