why rads?

[yaypoker1]

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for those of us trying to figure out if rads is right for us:

what were your 'personal statement' and non-'personal statement' reasons for going into rads? how are those reasons different for those who have gone through residency and/or been praciticing for a few years?

thanks

 

[hans19]

for those of us trying to figure out if rads is right for us:

what were your 'personal statement' and non-'personal statement' reasons for going into rads? how are those reasons different for those who have gone through residency and/or been praciticing for a few years?

thanks

The reasons as well as the 'personal statement' are for you to figure out for yourself. For some its pure money. For others its intellectual stimulation without the baggage of clinical practice (IE paper work, social work, psychology, HMO hassles, etc). If you browse this forum, you are bound to see many different motives expounded on.

Most in this forum are medical students or residents. A minority are finished and out in practice so we won't be able to answer those questions for you.
Do some homework, then come back. Most of us are willing to help you, but you have to show some initiative.

 

[shocker]

I will bite here but I hope it is for your genuine interest and not to help your personal statement.

I chose it for a number of reasons:
- I like to be efficient and work at a fast pace. Rounding for hours on end took me as close to suicide as I have ever been... Someone either said this to me in person or maybe even on this forum. If you get some terrible scan with a ton of pathology and comparison studies it may totally suck for 30 minutes or a little longer. If you are an Internist or other clinician you can have a patient stay with you for months, ouch.
- Radiology provides the opportunity to build a huge medical knoledge base bridging all specialties. You have to know female reproductive pathology, brain tumors, pediatric developmental disorders, etc. This appeals to me and will keep me learning for a very long time.
- In general Radiologists are quite happy. I have yet to meet one who said they wished they did something else. That carried a lot of weight as many surgeons and internists were not as happy.
- The specialty is constantly changing and is improving healthcare rapidly. Faster scanners with better resolution, new IR procedures (chemo-embo, cryo, etc.), and many other things that I have not learned yet.

There are more reasons but that should give you enough to think about.

 

[hans19]

I will bite here but I hope it is for your genuine interest and not to help your personal statement.

I chose it for a number of reasons:
- I like to be efficient and work at a fast pace. Rounding for hours on end took me as close to suicide as I have ever been... Someone either said this to me in person or maybe even on this forum. If you get some terrible scan with a ton of pathology and comparison studies it may totally suck for 30 minutes or a little longer. If you are an Internist or other clinician you can have a patient stay with you for months, ouch.
- Radiology provides the opportunity to build a huge medical knoledge base bridging all specialties. You have to know female reproductive pathology, brain tumors, pediatric developmental disorders, etc. This appeals to me and will keep me learning for a very long time.
- In general Radiologists are quite happy. I have yet to meet one who said they wished they did something else. That carried a lot of weight as many surgeons and internists were not as happy.
- The specialty is constantly changing and is improving healthcare rapidly. Faster scanners with better resolution, new IR procedures (chemo-embo, cryo, etc.), and many other things that I have not learned yet.

There are more reasons but that should give you enough to think about.

Great points. I am studying for the board exam and I literally have to know radiology from head to toe, including the heart. I have to know about fetal pediatric and adult pathology. I have to know the most common surgeries done by GS, orthopods, neurosurgeons, ENTs, peds surgeions, transplants, urologists -- you name it. I also get to do therapeutic procedures to help the patient when an operation just cant be done. Or-- I can treat a condition less invasively than the surgical alternative. No other specialty can offer you this breadth of knowledge.

Due to the incredible demand and the right opportunities, I already have my job lined up, and I haven't even started my fellowship.

Every specialty has its ups and downs, but I have no regrets about choosing radiology!

 

[DrCos]

For me the choice of specialty was not easy. There isn't really a formal career guidance program at any medical colleges I'm aware of and it's difficult to get much experience in radiology by way of rotations.
What really appealed to me was the intellectual challenge and my personal interest in the field. I always found radiology teaching more enjoyable than a lot of the clinical stuff I was exposed to. The other key thing for me was the fact that all the radiologists and radiology trainees I talked to seemed to love their job and have a balanced life which is important to me. The reduced levels of patient contact is something I've actually found appealing as I found I enjoyed interacting with my colleagues more than with patients. Radiology still offers a lot of clinical contact particularly with procedures in any case. While it's true that radiologists do earn a lot of cash, there are certainly other specialties which earn more so this is not a great reason to choose it as a career.

Your best options when choosing a specialty is to have cast a wide net and talk to as many people as possible about what the specialty is all about and what the like/dislike about it.

Good luck.

 

[wizenedone]

Well, sometimes you can't really explain why you choose one specialty over another. For me personally, it was after shadowing a radiologist that I had an interest in radiology. I am still considering other fields (pre-med still) but radiology is definitely a strong one for me. It is never too early to start exploring the possible fields you might want to go in. So far, I have shadowed a dermatologist and a radiologist (looking to shadow more). In addition to this, I volunteer in the ER and I can definitely say by comparing other fields, radiology would be a very good fit for me as I like everything and anything about this particular field. Again, it is a matter of personal choice. Everyone is different and one has to make up their own decision based on shadowing experiences as a pre-med and during rotations as a medical student.

 

[Mariah246]

Well, sometimes you can't really explain why you choose one specialty over another. For me personally, it was after shadowing a radiologist that I had an interest in radiology. I am still considering other fields (pre-med still) but radiology is definitely a strong one for me. It is never too early to start exploring the possible fields you might want to go in. So far, I have shadowed a dermatologist and a radiologist (looking to shadow more). In addition to this, I volunteer in the ER and I can definitely say by comparing other fields, radiology would be a very good fit for me as I like everything and anything about this particular field. Again, it is a matter of personal choice. Everyone is different and one has to make up their own decision based on shadowing experiences as a pre-med and during rotations as a medical student.

I'd highly recommend not selecting a career based off of pre-med shadowing experiences.

 

[wizenedone]

I'd highly recommend not selecting a career based off of pre-med shadowing experiences.

I know. Like I said, its not cast in concrete (nor it should be) after a pre-med shadowing experience. However, you can be interested and view rads as a possibility. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Even before the shadowing experience, I was always fascinated by this particular field of rads as I know a few radiologists.

 

[Mariah246]

I know. Like I said, its not cast in concrete (nor it should be) after a pre-med shadowing experience. However, you can be interested and view rads as a possibility. I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Even before the shadowing experience, I was always fascinated by this particular field of rads as I know a few radiologists.

That's a good route to take going into medical school. Always nice to view things with an open mind. (and then ultimately head back to radiology 😛)

 

[Neuronix]

I do plan on writing as nice a personal statement as I can. But, I wonder, can a good statement really help you into a program? Do the residency committees even read them and strongly consider them?

This isn't completely out of left field--the director at an MD/PhD program told me they never bother to read personal statements

 

[unoriginal]

I do plan on writing as nice a personal statement as I can. But, I wonder, can a good statement really help you into a program? Do the residency committees even read them and strongly consider them?

This isn't completely out of left field--the director at an MD/PhD program told me they never bother to read personal statements

i have only talked to 2 programs about this, so this may mean nothing. One said that some interviewers may read them to find things to talk to you about during the interview, other interviewers won't read them and that if they aren't read at the interview stage, then they will have no bearing. The other program said that all statements are read and taken into consideration; an exceptionally good PS can help you and an exceptionally bad PS can hurt you. The ones in between have no bearing.

 

[peanutbutter5]

I'm an MS3 at a SoCal school. I recently spoke to our PD about this. She told me that in her opinion the personal statement is the "most important part of the application." She further explained that this is espically true for rads where everyone has great board scores, grades, research, etc.

She told me a story about some guy who wrote his statement about funny things that have happened to him because of his last name (seriously) and how he ended up matching at duke. She said that a good personal statement should be "edgy and different."

I just wanted to throw that in there...

 

[hans19]

I'm an MS3 at a SoCal school. I recently spoke to our PD about this. She told me that in her opinion the personal statement is the "most important part of the application." She further explained that this is espically true for rads where everyone has great board scores, grades, research, etc.

She told me a story about some guy who wrote his statement about funny things that have happened to him because of his last name (seriously) and how he ended up matching at duke. She said that a good personal statement should be "edgy and different."

I just wanted to throw that in there...

Let me tell you what we look at:
Numbers numbers numbers, then LORs. Then your interview. The PS just gives us an idea what to ask you about during the interview- interesting life experience, research, missionary work, interesting hobbies. Most PS's won't help you. But a poorly written one with spelling and grammatical mistakes will hurt you.

By far the numbers do the most to get your foot into the door.

 

[bigfrank]

Exactly. Numbers get you the interview, but what makes YOU stand out as an individual (i.e., your personality and experiences) will secure you the spot.