Rising M1 Interested in IR

[anotherhotpremed]

Hi everyone,

I am a rising M1 and I will be starting med school this upcoming fall. I haven't decided where I will be attending yet, but as of rn I am leaning towards Northwestern. I was hoping to get some advice on how I can make myself a really strong applicant when I apply to IR residency. I also want to hear what made you choose IR, something you hate about the specialty, if you worry about the amount of radiation you are exposed to, and pretty much anything you are willing to tell me about the specialty.

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[irwarrior]

To make yourself strong applicant, focus on getting into a good medical school and focusing on your Step exams (modern era that means step 2 given step 1 maybe pass/ fail). Get involved in your interventional interest group, do VIR research, Honor as many of your 3rd year courses especially surgery, get strong letters from interventional rads and surgery. Get involved with SIR.

1) Step exams
2)3rd year rotation honors
3) VIR research
4) Letters from Surgery (such as vascular surgery) and VIR
5) SIR student section involvement

I chose VIR because I liked the minimally invasive nature of the field and the rapid recovery of patients. I liked the scope and breadth of the field (head to toe). The challenge is the field is in great transition from a procedural based specialty to a clinical specialty, with admitting privileges, longitudinal outpatient clinics where they manage patient's conditions more comprehensively.

The radiation reduction with hanging shields, things such as Clarity from Philips, radpads , newer leads (StemRad MD: Revolutionary X-ray Protection | StemRad) all help reduce that risk. Also, with dedicated clinic time, consult time, US and CT procedures you have time without lead or radiation.

To learn more the field you should join SIR.

Society of Interventional Radiology - Society of Interventional Radiology

The Society of Interventional Radiology is a national organization of physicians, scientists and allied health professionals dedicated to improving public health through disease management and minimally invasive, image-guided therapeutic interventions.

www.sirweb.org

http://rfs.sirweb.org

It's an amazing specialty that is highly innovative, rapidly advancing (technologically driven ), and very broad spectrum of disease (head to toe).

 

[anotherhotpremed]

To make yourself strong applicant, focus on getting into a good medical school and focusing on your Step exams (modern era that means step 2 given step 1 maybe pass/ fail). Get involved in your interventional interest group, do VIR research, Honor as many of your 3rd year courses especially surgery, get strong letters from interventional rads and surgery. Get involved with SIR.

1) Step exams
2)3rd year rotation honors
3) VIR research
4) Letters from Surgery (such as vascular surgery) and VIR
5) SIR student section involvement

I chose VIR because I liked the minimally invasive nature of the field and the rapid recovery of patients. I liked the scope and breadth of the field (head to toe). The challenge is the field is in great transition from a procedural based specialty to a clinical specialty, with admitting privileges, longitudinal outpatient clinics where they manage patient's conditions more comprehensively.

The radiation reduction with hanging shields, things such as Clarity from Philips, radpads , newer leads (StemRad MD: Revolutionary X-ray Protection | StemRad) all help reduce that risk. Also, with dedicated clinic time, consult time, US and CT procedures you have time without lead or radiation.

To learn more the field you should join SIR.

Society of Interventional Radiology - Society of Interventional Radiology

The Society of Interventional Radiology is a national organization of physicians, scientists and allied health professionals dedicated to improving public health through disease management and minimally invasive, image-guided therapeutic interventions.

www.sirweb.org

http://rfs.sirweb.org

It's an amazing specialty that is highly innovative, rapidly advancing (technologically driven ), and very broad spectrum of disease (head to toe).

Hi,

Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I really appreciate you!

 

[NotAnotherPreMed]

IRwarrior always gives excellent advice! Echo everything they said.
As an aside, I'm an M4 applying into IR this year and the parallels in our usernames made me laugh.

 

[anotherhotpremed]

IRwarrior always gives excellent advice! Echo everything they said.
As an aside, I'm an M4 applying into IR this year and the parallels in our usernames made me laugh.Good

Good look! I hope you match to your top choice!!!!!!!