Thoughts on rads compared to derm?

[KurosawaRhap]

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Admittedly, the two have little in common beyond both being extremely visual fields. (Patient contact is limited in radiology and it appears you need to be seeing patients literally every 15 minutes to keep a derm practice afloat)

But I was wondering what your general thoughts were on these two fields? (I'll gladly take all perspectives: med students, residents, attendings! 😛)

The reason why I ask is because I've been thinking about going into derm (MS3) but with the crazy competition, I'm starting to wonder if another specialty is a safer bet.

I've heard that radiology is a bit easier to get into. I personally don't have that much exposure to radiology yet (not allowed to do an elective as a 3rd yr) but the few times I've ventured into the reading room on my general surgery rotation, I've been fascinated.

There's the option of "double applying" looming in the back of my head but I've always thought of that route to be a little tacky and noncommittal. I would prefer to make a decision, build a 4th year schedule around it, and then plow ahead with whatever needs to be done in order to secure a match.

My stats if it helps at all:
Pre-clinical-> Mostly honors, couple of passes
Step 1-> 250
Clinical-> High passes, no honors. (Been through peds, psych, and OB. Currently in surgery. Praying that medicine will be that first and dearly treasured clinical honors)
Research-> No pubs. One summer of derm research.
AOA-> Not likely. I am barely in the top 25% of my class and it appears the cutoff for qualifying is top 10%. (Incidentally, this is also the reason why I'm wavering a bit on the derm dream. I spoke with my home derm PD and she likes to see students at least in the top 10%. She advised that those who aren't need to be highly aggressive in their pursuit of 4th year research, away electives, etc...)
School rep-> Not a great one.

 

[KurosawaRhap]

Best two gigs in all of medicine and surgery -- kudos to your for having it down to these two winners.

Derm:

• Money - SUPERB. A lot of very lucrative procedures, almost 100% collection (compare that to the abysmal returns in Eternal Medicine), put your name on some new cream and make a killing. 500K without breaking a sweat, 1+ mill if you like Italian supercars.
• Lifestyle - CAKE... with icing. M-F even less than banker's hours at your clinic, shopping for Louis Vuitton paraphernalia on the internet half the day.
• Prestige - AT THE TOP. You are a "real doctor," patients love you, if you're a woman you will the THE QUEEN BEE in your social circle, if you're man you'll be on a reality show like that Dr. Will guy and women will swoon
• Future - BRIGHT. As America continues to become more affluent the demand for luxury goods will increase -- a visit to the Dermatologist is at the very top of The Hierarchy of Needs, right below Self-Actualization

Rads:

• Money - HIGH. Not as high as Derm's per hour pay (that's what counts) but better for some (e.g. me) since I don't have to see or touch patients.
• Lifestyle - FLEXIBLE. Can scale up or down according to how much loot you need at that particular point in time. Can work from home. No clinic.
• Prestige - MODERATE. Not considered a "real doctor." (Personally I couldn't care less about that.) Goofy med students think you're "selling out" and instead go into hardcore fields like gen surg or cardiology -- 5-10 years later they realize that the joke was on them. Lay people respect radiologists, even if only it's because they see them cruising around in their 600's while they know for a fact that their own FP drives a Toyota.
• Future - AMAZING. Imaging is the future and is growing at an exponential pace. Demand far exceeds supply -- and the gap is getting wider.

You really can't go wrong with either field, but I would advise you to think hard because the fact is they are two very different fields. Some may be fine in either one but some will not be. For example I would quit medicine before doing anything with clinic -- including derm -- but that's just me. Others cannot bear the relative solitude and cerebral nature of rads. To each his own.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[GMO2003]

Best two gigs in all of medicine and surgery -- kudos to your for having it down to these two winners.

Derm:

• Money - SUPERB. A lot of very lucrative procedures, almost 100% collection (compare that to the abysmal returns in Eternal Medicine), put your name on some new cream and make a killing. 500K without breaking a sweat, 1+ mill if you like Italian supercars.
• Lifestyle - CAKE... with icing. M-F even less than banker's hours at your clinic, shopping for Louis Vuitton paraphernalia on the internet half the day.
• Prestige - AT THE TOP. You are a "real doctor," patients love you, if you're a woman you will the THE QUEEN BEE in your social circle, if you're man you'll be on a reality show like that Dr. Will guy and women will swoon
• Future - BRIGHT. As America continues to become more affluent the demand for luxury goods will increase -- a visit to the Dermatologist is at the very top of The Hierarchy of Needs, right below Self-Actualization

Rads:

• Money - HIGH. Not as high as Derm's per hour pay (that's what counts) but better for some (e.g. me) since I don't have to see or touch patients.
• Lifestyle - FLEXIBLE. Can scale up or down according to how much loot you need at that particular point in time. Can work from home. No clinic.
• Prestige - MODERATE. Not considered a "real doctor." (Personally I couldn't care less about that.) Goofy med students think you're "selling out" and instead go into hardcore fields like gen surg or cardiology -- 5-10 years later they realize that the joke was on them. Lay people respect radiologists, even if only it's because they see them cruising around in their 600's while they know for a fact that their own FP drives a Toyota.
• Future - AMAZING. Imaging is the future and is growing at an exponential pace. Demand far exceeds supply -- and the gap is getting wider.

You really can't go wrong with either field, but I would advise you to think hard because the fact is they are two very different fields. Some may be fine in either one but some will not be. For example I would quit medicine before doing anything with clinic -- including derm -- but that's just me. Others cannot bear the relative solitude and cerebral nature of rads. To each his own.

cuts is that you??

 

[Long Dong]

cuts is that you??

Yeap I'm pretty sure that is Dr. Cuts under a different name. Oh yeah Dr. Cuts thanks for the advise you gave me for step 1 couldn't have gotten where I'm at without you and big frank.

 

[OHMAN0125]

Best two gigs in all of medicine and surgery -- kudos to your for having it down to these two winners.

Derm:

• Money - SUPERB. A lot of very lucrative procedures, almost 100% collection (compare that to the abysmal returns in Eternal Medicine), put your name on some new cream and make a killing. 500K without breaking a sweat, 1+ mill if you like Italian supercars.
• Lifestyle - CAKE... with icing. M-F even less than banker's hours at your clinic, shopping for Louis Vuitton paraphernalia on the internet half the day.
• Prestige - AT THE TOP. You are a "real doctor," patients love you, if you're a woman you will the THE QUEEN BEE in your social circle, if you're man you'll be on a reality show like that Dr. Will guy and women will swoon
• Future - BRIGHT. As America continues to become more affluent the demand for luxury goods will increase -- a visit to the Dermatologist is at the very top of The Hierarchy of Needs, right below Self-Actualization

Rads:

• Money - HIGH. Not as high as Derm's per hour pay (that's what counts) but better for some (e.g. me) since I don't have to see or touch patients.
• Lifestyle - FLEXIBLE. Can scale up or down according to how much loot you need at that particular point in time. Can work from home. No clinic.
• Prestige - MODERATE. Not considered a "real doctor." (Personally I couldn't care less about that.) Goofy med students think you're "selling out" and instead go into hardcore fields like gen surg or cardiology -- 5-10 years later they realize that the joke was on them. Lay people respect radiologists, even if only it's because they see them cruising around in their 600's while they know for a fact that their own FP drives a Toyota.
• Future - AMAZING. Imaging is the future and is growing at an exponential pace. Demand far exceeds supply -- and the gap is getting wider.

You really can't go wrong with either field, but I would advise you to think hard because the fact is they are two very different fields. Some may be fine in either one but some will not be. For example I would quit medicine before doing anything with clinic -- including derm -- but that's just me. Others cannot bear the relative solitude and cerebral nature of rads. To each his own.

What the hell is a 600?

 

[discontinuebed]

What the hell is a 600?

I believe he's referring to an S600. Mercedes flagship sedan.

 

[discontinuebed]

I was actually considering these 2 myself.

Apache paints such an optimistic picture it's hard not to smile when reading 🙂

 

[hans19]

I believe he's referring to an S600. Mercedes flagship sedan.

Only a 600? I'd expect something a bit more grandiose from Cuts like a Maybach or a Drophead. 🙄

 

[discontinuebed]

Only a 600? I'd expect something a bit more grandiose from Cuts like a Maybach or a Drophead. 🙄

heh heh heh

But then you'd need to tack on the cost of a chaffeur. I mean, you can't be seen driving a Maybach around. People might get the wrong idea 😉

 

[hans19]

The pure outpatient imaging and telerads operations touted by Cuts are tanking by the droves courtesy of the newest round of imaging cuts. Have you seen the most recent VRC or Nighthawk stock prices? I bet a Prius is starting to look better and better. Better yet -- how about a bus pass?

A good radiology group should be well diversified like an investment portfolio. Not too much of in patient or outpatient, more than one hospital as a client, offering a full range of services- Not exclusively the high-end ones (because what happens when the reimbursement for those gets slashed- like it just did?).