In general, the diagnostic radiologist is sitting at a desk with multiple computer monitors in a dimly lit room. Each monitor serves a different purpose, such as showing the list of studies to be read, showing the images for the current study, showing the images for the prior studies, showing the reports of prior studies, and/or showing clinical information about the patient's medical history. In one hand, the radiologist holds the dictaphone which he can speak into. In the other hand, the radiologist holds the computer mouse which he uses to view and/or scroll through the images. While looking at the images, the radiologist speaks into the dictaphone which magically transcribes the words into a report. After finishing the study, the radiologist reads the report and makes any corrections by either speaking into the dictaphone with commands or by manually correcting it on the keyboard. Then the radiologist will sign the report and move onto the next study. If there are any critical findings, the radiologist will call the ordering provider to communicate these results and/or recommendations. Different radiologists focus on different studies. Some read several modalities while others focus on a few or a single modality or organ system. Some radiologists are purely diagnostic and interpret images. Others do some image-guided procedures in addition to reading studies. Hope that helps you have a better picture of radiologists do on a daily basis 🙂
