steps to being a radiologist

[idonthaveaclue]

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Hi. I am a freshman at a community college and I am currently considering going into the field of radiology because it seems really fun,but at the same time it seems quite overwhelming. What should my next steps be if I want to pursue a career in radiology.Is life as a radiologist stressful? And is it as fun as it seems ?

 

[deleted564680]

Honestly, this is too early in your career to really give you a great answer. The best thing you can do right now is get as close to a 4.0 GPA in community college and transfer to a 4 year school, do your medical school pre-reqs, and then focus on doing well on the MCAT.
Worry about radiology later on down the road.
It's fun. I love it. But, it takes 4 years undergrad, 4 years med school, 5 years residency, 1 year fellowship to get through it all. Not to mention most people taking a year off here or there for some reason.

 

[loljkttyl]

That's great that you are interested in radiology! It's never too early to get a head start and set goals early in life. I think a smart idea would be to shadow a radiologist maybe like once or twice for a few hours, not for your resume, but more for yourself to see if this would be something you could see yourself doing for the rest of your life. When I entered med school, I thought I wanted to be an anesthesiologist, then when I shadowed him for a few hours, I was like hell no there is no way I can sit in the OR for the rest of the afternoon, let alone the rest of my life.

If your heart is truly set on radiology, I would try to do the following at each step:
- college (4 yrs): maintain a good GPA, ace the MCAT (preferably at least 30), obtain leadership positions in extracurricular activities/volunteer groups, do some type of research in any field (if you are interested), volunteer in a hospital/other clinical experience
- med school (4 yrs): do well during your clinical rotations, ace the USMLE Step 1 (preferably at least 230), do research in radiology (e.g., during summer between first and second yrs) and/or publish case report (e.g., at ACR Case-in-Point) or educational exhibit (e.g., at RSNA)
- internship (1 yr): just survive hehe; you can choose either general medicine yr, general surgery yr, or transitional yr which is like a hybrid of many different facets of medicine/surgery
- residency (4 yrs): some programs such as university hospitals are more prestigious/research-focused and other programs are more community oriented/less research focused
- fellowship (most are 1 yr, though some such as neuroradiology can be 2 yrs): start looking for a real job; the vast majority of radiologists end up working for private practices and do not do research for the rest of their lives

Some people, as mentioned above, do take a yr off to do research at some point during the process but personally I feel this is not necessary and actually you are losing a year of earning potential later on. Your goal should be to get through this entire process as quickly as possible, pay off your debt as quickly as possible, and earn an attending salary as quickly as possible.

Radiology is a very intellectual, fast-paced field with great compensation but there is a lot of reading involved and the job is very stressful!

 

[Mad Jack]

Step 1: Get good grades in CC.
Step 2: Transfer to a university and continue to get good grades.
Step 2.5: Make sure you take all the prereqs.
Step 3: Take the MCAT.
Step 4: Apply to med school.
Step 5: Get into med school.
Step 6: Do well in med school.
Step 7: Do well on the USMLE.
Step 8: Do well on rotations.
Step 9: Don't screw up Step 2.
Step 10: Apply to radiology programs and internships if they require one to be completed elsewhere.
Step 11: Interview.
Step 12: Get accepted to a radiology residency.
Step 13: Finish intern year, get your medical license.
Step 14: Complete your radiology residency.
Step 15: Complete a fellowship because the job market is tight.
Step 16: Take your specialty board certification.
Step 17: Get a job.

There's your roadmap. Good luck.

 

[vm26]

Hi. I am a freshman at a community college and I am currently considering going into the field of radiology because it seems really fun,but at the same time it seems quite overwhelming. What should my next steps be if I want to pursue a career in radiology.Is life as a radiologist stressful? And is it as fun as it seems ?

What is your exposure to radiology? I'm curious as to why you think it seems "fun"?...I too started at a CC, you basically need to take full advantage of the small class sizes and get 3.8-4.0 gpa (preferably 4.0 in the sciences)...before deciding on radiology, 1st figure out if med school is what you want. Also keep in mind that most people do not consider work/career to be "fun" (unless they're a professional athlete, actor, performer etc, and even then it eventually becomes work)