Are you happy in radiology?

[painballer27]

Basically the title. And would you recommend radiology to current med students? Any additional info regarding lifestyle/incomes would be greatly appreciated as well!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[SeisK]

Happier than I would be doing anything else. Almost every other specialty is either too boring, involves stuff I don’t want to deal with, or too restrictive.

Hot job market getting hotter with no end in sight. Good income and decent lobby to protect our interests. You can do procedures all day everyday in IR academia, or work from home all day every day in tele PP. You can have a chill life or work neurosurgeon hours making neurosurgeon money. And right now you could probably rapidly jump between the two.

It’s like ‘17 bitcoin up in here. Buy now.

 

[Gadofosveset]

Yes. I was considering a few other options in medical school, but definitely made the right choice.

 

[TXRads]

Yes. I was considering a few other options in medical school, but definitely made the right choice.

What were you considering? Why do you feel like you made the right choice?

 

[Cognovi]

Basically the title. And would you recommend radiology to current med students? Any additional info regarding lifestyle/incomes would be greatly appreciated as well!

Happy as a clam.

I recommend it to medical students whose developing self-concept/professional identity as a physician does not revolve around the personal interaction with patients. We all wrote in our med school personal statements that we want to help people and like science, but if your idea of helping people does not *require* you to *smell patients*, then radiology is ideal. You make an impact on a large volume of patients. You learn a lot and apply it all day, with a relatively low amount of scut or waiting around. You interact with smart people (other physicians) all the time with professional respect. You have high flexibility in terms of job style, lifestyle, and mobility.

Compensation is appropriate. Radiologists generate a lot of RVUs (due to low scut/waiting around); pretty much only neurosurgeons and cardiothoracic surgeons make more RVUs but they also put in longer and less predictable work hours. Even though the compensation per RVU in radiology is not as good in other specialties, overall compensation for radiologists has always come out above average. Look at this graph (data a few years old):

Once you consider hours worked, radiology is also near the top for hourly wage. Neurosurgery, ortho, derm, and rad onc are better, but radiology comes ahead of everyone else. Look at this graph:

Once you consider that radiology is a bigger field than ortho and a much bigger field than neurosurgery, dermatology, and radiation oncology, you will also know that there is a larger job market in radiology. The strength of the job market comes and goes in cycles, but having a large market means there are more varieties of job requirements and you have more frequent opportunities to move or find a better match.

The companion thread on this forum is very informative regarding the state of the job market: Job Market in Radiology

 

[2brads]

Isn’t radonc a nuclear wasteland right now?

 

[Cognovi]

Isn’t radonc a nuclear wasteland right now?

Yes, because of job unavailability.

 

[Gagan97]

I am fascinated by endovascular procedures and minimally invasive procedures. I have been for quite some time. I like diagnostic radiology as well and I think at this point they are like the anchor to the hospital. Been a tech geek throughout my life. Basically trying to make up mind to go IM> cardio> IC or DR>IR. I don't hate IM either but IR's seem like people I resonate most with. Smart people, never bored, always happy. Have tried to list pros cons and tried to soul search to no avail. Any advice?

 

[SeisK]

I am fascinated by endovascular procedures and minimally invasive procedures. I have been for quite some time. I like diagnostic radiology as well and I think at this point they are like the anchor to the hospital. Been a tech geek throughout my life. Basically trying to make up mind to go IM> cardio> IC or DR>IR. I don't hate IM either but IR's seem like people I resonate most with. Smart people, never bored, always happy. Have tried to list pros cons and tried to soul search to no avail. Any advice?

If you like imaging, diagnosis, the life (and what you do) of radiology, and doing stuff other than endovascular, do IR. If you like the workflow of IM more, spending more time managing patients, do cardiology.

If you like getting your hands dirty with opening people up and doing everything to manage vascular patients, do vascular surgery.

 

[guytakingboards]

I am fascinated by endovascular procedures and minimally invasive procedures. I have been for quite some time. I like diagnostic radiology as well and I think at this point they are like the anchor to the hospital. Been a tech geek throughout my life. Basically trying to make up mind to go IM> cardio> IC or DR>IR. I don't hate IM either but IR's seem like people I resonate most with. Smart people, never bored, always happy. Have tried to list pros cons and tried to soul search to no avail. Any advice?

Eh, as someone who persued a specialty early-on based on the people i thought i resonated with and who i thought were the happiest..... and later ended up in radiology... get a lot of opinions on what the general experience of that specialty. Also, see what it's like in the setting you'd be likely to practice in (i.e. academics/community/VA/etc...).

If the IR's you know are smart and always seem happy... that's all well and good but that gives you an N of 1. I know a lot of IR's who are stressed and feel overworked. (obviously plenty of interventional cards people are too).

I know it's hard to imagine what your working career will be like but if you're one of the overwhelming majority who don't end up in academics, the candy and sunshine perspective of academic IR at your place will likely not be a realistic picture of your later career.

 

[GoPelicans]

Bro there are like 3 people in medicine who are 'happy'. Radiology is a good career.

 

[Gadofosveset]

What were you considering? Why do you feel like you made the right choice?

Neurology, neurosurgery, surg onc, ENT

I think I made the right choice because although I probably would have loved the practice of any one of those, they would have squeezed out everything else in life. Maybe neurology would not have been so bad. I could not understand that as a student - I said I understood it, but I really didn’t. I switched over to rads thinking NIR… now I’m in DR (although I do procedures as well).

Rads is more intense than I expected as a student. If you’re practicing it well, it’s intellectually demanding. It can be mentally draining in a way that’s difficult to appreciate as an outsider. Constant decision making for hours on end. You have to work well in isolation and without fanfare, but be able to put yourself into the treatment path of patient after patient after patient. Guess what the clinicians need from the report, what the patient needs. It’s challenging. I find it satisfying.

In rads, there’s more intense bursts of work instead of long draggy shifts and I enjoy that. The group I work with is good about letting you keep your family life a priority, although this various among groups. At least there’s a chance to keep some % of your life and energy for things outside work. I didn’t see that in the surgical subspecialties I was considering. Work first, and if necessary only, was their culture, which I found exciting as a student, but it would not have been sustainable for me over a lifetime.

Sometimes I wonder who I would be if I had stuck with my original plans. But I never regret my choice.

 

[Gagan97]

If you like imaging, diagnosis, the life (and what you do) of radiology, and doing stuff other than endovascular, do IR. If you like the workflow of IM more, spending more time managing patients, do cardiology.

If you like getting your hands dirty with opening people up and doing everything to manage vascular patients, do vascular surgery.

I like discussing stuff with other doctors more than patients to be honest. It's like some patients are amazing but quite a few of them drain you out just because they are not willing to listen. Honestly radiology sort of fits everything I want in life. I have been struggling with balancing my life since med school. I assume residency is going to get worse. Radiology seems like a place where I can get enough time to workout more regularly and not stress constantly about the next goal in life, pause every now and then and enjoy life. I guess two inhibition that I have are

1) in the long run does it become too isolating? Do you make meaningful professional relationships in the hospital or within radiology group? This is a big fear as I love playing in a team and what people tell is if I end up in pp then I will be very cut off from other people

2) how AI will impact radiology? At this point I am pretty sure the liability is too much for it to ever replace a radiologist. But listening to a lot of radiologists complain about massive workload today I just wonder will ai make this worse?

3) turf wars in IR. It just feels like IR's are constantly fending off and fighting people for privilages. With vascular for pad, evar and tevar, with interventional cardiology for ivc filters. The g tube insertion is based on the gi department's whims and fancies. What keeps IR's here excited all day is looking forward for that TIPPS or ablation that they do boat loads. It's not like I didn't enjoy biopsies or ports but doing IR for only that doesn't make much sense

 

[guytakingboards]

I like discussing stuff with other doctors more than patients to be honest. It's like some patients are amazing but quite a few of them drain you out just because they are not willing to listen. Honestly radiology sort of fits everything I want in life. I have been struggling with balancing my life since med school. I assume residency is going to get worse. Radiology seems like a place where I can get enough time to workout more regularly and not stress constantly about the next goal in life, pause every now and then and enjoy life. I guess two inhibition that I have are

1) in the long run does it become too isolating? Do you make meaningful professional relationships in the hospital or within radiology group? This is a big fear as I love playing in a team and what people tell is if I end up in pp then I will be very cut off from other people

Depends highly on your personality and the job you take. A lot of my fellow diagnostic partners have no problems sitting in a imaging center cranking out reports with minimal interaction. That's their personality.

A lot of the hospital based diagnostic and interventional rads have significant interactions with other specialties. Heck if you're the IR in a smaller hospital that you're covering solo you're a very highly sought after person because you clean up everyone else's mess.

2) how AI will impact radiology? At this point I am pretty sure the liability is too much for it to ever replace a radiologist. But listening to a lot of radiologists complain about massive workload today I just wonder will ai make this worse?

No one can say with any certainty. I'm not entirely convinced it'll be that impactful the next two decades of my career. The implementations in my specialty are just not close to usefulness to us.

3) turf wars in IR. It just feels like IR's are constantly fending off and fighting people for privilages. With vascular for pad, evar and tevar, with interventional cardiology for ivc filters. The g tube insertion is based on the gi department's whims and fancies. What keeps IR's here excited all day is looking forward for that TIPPS or ablation that they do boat loads. It's not like I didn't enjoy biopsies or ports but doing IR for only that doesn't make much sense

There's a big push from SIR to have IR's practicing at the high end of their training more, but really at the end of the day the venous access and biopsies are the only thing you can really count on as an IR. Even in academic centers, TIPPS aren't THAT common. You gotta work in a liver/renal transplant center to get a decent of TIPPS and ablations. That's not for everyone.

 

[twoslic3]

Happy as a clam.

I recommend it to medical students whose developing self-concept/professional identity as a physician does not revolve around the personal interaction with patients. We all wrote in our med school personal statements that we want to help people and like science, but if your idea of helping people does not *require* you to *smell patients*, then radiology is ideal. You make an impact on a large volume of patients. You learn a lot and apply it all day, with a relatively low amount of scut or waiting around. You interact with smart people (other physicians) all the time with professional respect. You have high flexibility in terms of job style, lifestyle, and mobility.

Compensation is appropriate. Radiologists generate a lot of RVUs (due to low scut/waiting around); pretty much only neurosurgeons and cardiothoracic surgeons make more RVUs but they also put in longer and less predictable work hours. Even though the compensation per RVU in radiology is not as good in other specialties, overall compensation for radiologists has always come out above average. Look at this graph (data a few years old):

View attachment 344709

Once you consider hours worked, radiology is also near the top for hourly wage. Neurosurgery, ortho, derm, and rad onc are better, but radiology comes ahead of everyone else. Look at this graph:

View attachment 344710

Once you consider that radiology is a bigger field than ortho and a much bigger field than neurosurgery, dermatology, and radiation oncology, you will also know that there is a larger job market in radiology. The strength of the job market comes and goes in cycles, but having a large market means there are more varieties of job requirements and you have more frequent opportunities to move or find a better match.

The companion thread on this forum is very informative regarding the state of the job market: Job Market in Radiology

Rads is a great field and I'm super happy about my choice.

Not sure when/where the hourly wages comes from, but 175/hr definitely seems like its the low end.

 

[2brads]

$175 is way off (at least for private practice). I just calculated my hourly rate based on annual comp and it’s more like $400/hr.

 

[Cognovi]

Not sure when/where the hourly wages comes from, but 175/hr definitely seems like its the low end.

Good point. The data is outdated and specious. This graph is from this article http://www.rimed.org/rimedicaljournal/2018/10/2018-10-50-cont-eltorai.pdf written by a medical student (now radiology resident), which in turn is based on using MGMA salary data from 2012; an estimate of work hours by specialty from this paper Annual Work Hours Across Physician Specialties which is based on a survey from 2004-2005 that actually excluded radiologists, pathologists, and anesthesiologists; and an assumption of 49 weeks worked per year.

 

[2brads]

49 weeks worked per year….wtf.

 

[SeisK]

49 weeks worked per year….wtf.

I think that’s normal for people not in rads.

 

[2brads]

49 weeks is like what residents work. I don’t know ANY docs working 49 weeks per year. My point is, the “research” regarding $/hr is fundamentally flawed.

 

[Cognovi]

49 weeks worked per year….wtf.

That figure is based on the "2001 Patient Care Physician survey of nonfederal patient care physicians" which I have not accessed to verify.

 

[2brads]

That figure is based on the "2001 Patient Care Physician survey of nonfederal patient care physicians" which I have not accessed to verify.

Can we just use some common sense here? Does anyone know any doctors working 49 weeks per year?

A fundamental part of the scientific method is making sure the findings jibe with reality. If you point me to a study saying the sky it hot pink it only makes me question your methods; it doesn’t convince me the sky is actually hot pink.

 

[Cognovi]

Can we just use some common sense here? Does anyone know any doctors working 49 weeks per year?

A fundamental part of the scientific method is making sure the findings jibe with reality. If you point me to a study saying the sky it hot pink it only makes me question your methods; it doesn’t convince me the sky is actually hot pink.

The main takeaway from the graph is not the absolute numbers, but the relative position of each specialty. If work weeks per year vary significantly between specialties, that would invalidate the finding.

It doesn't make sense to me why the authors of this paper chose to take the hours/week figure from that other paper and extrapolate it to the whole year based on a 49 week/year across-the-board assumption, when then the main point of the other paper was on annual work hours and how they differed by specialty.

 

[2brads]

Does the Rhode Island Medical Journal even peer review? The paper makes assumptions based on physicians working an AVERAGE of 49 weeks per year. So for every radiologist getting 12 weeks off, I guess that's 3 other suckers working EVERY SINGLE DAY of the year - no vacation, no sick days, do not pass GO...

 

[CorneliaSt]

Yes! very happy!!! Love the job itself, it pays well, the people are nice, and the lifestyle is what you make of it. If you want to grind it out and make lots of money in private practice, have at it. If you want to work remotely in your cozy PJs the rest of your life, telerads is your friend. You still enjoy some patient interaction? breast or IR are great choices. Not sure what the job market will look like in 5-10 years, but currently it is WIDE OPEN. I'm finishing up my training now looking at the job market and I feel like the world is my oyster in terms of what type of job I want and where I want to work.

 

[Tiger100]

If 99% of radiologists are happy, there is not guarantee that the next medical student who chooses radiology will be happy.

The field is intellectually stimulating. Your knowledge will be more than most physicians. The pay is one of the better ones and the life style is decent. You can do procedures from day after day from dawn to dusk or you can sit at home in your Pijamas and do your job with minimum human interaction. Most jobs are something in the middle. Overall, a very good combination of different things.


However, there are a good number of people who hate it. Simply put, the type of work doesn't appeal to them. And if you hate it, no money in the world can make you happy. My 2 cents.

 

[Dr.JMoon]

If 99% of radiologists are happy, there is not guarantee that the next medical student who chooses radiology will be happy.

The field is intellectually stimulating. Your knowledge will be more than most physicians. The pay is one of the better ones and the life style is decent. You can do procedures from day after day from dawn to dusk or you can sit at home in your Pijamas and do your job with minimum human interaction. Most jobs are something in the middle. Overall, a very good combination of different things.


However, there are a good number of people who hate it. Simply put, the type of work doesn't appeal to them. And if you hate it, no money in the world can make you happy. My 2 cents.

@Tiger100 @2brads @Cognovi @SeisK @guytakingboards From your experience what is the type of people that hate radiology? (and what particularly hate about it?). I am considering radiology and another surg subspecialty (one with the better lifestyles - Optho), and honesty PP ophtho seems as intense as radiology, if not more. Sure in optho you get more downtime and it's not as mentally taxing, but the hustle/grind to create your patient base at the beginning and the constant grind to get more referrals until you become established sounded exhausting.

Radiology it's just pure medicine from day 1, no paperwork, no kissing a** for referrals and your fund of knowledge although not as focused/deep is considerably greater, and most importantly is so flexible - if you decide you are tired and you want to move on, you can easily do that and not worry about establishing a new patient base, why many times faculty is trying to dissuade students from doing radiology?

It’s so hard to get a good grasp of what radiology is going to be like as a student what made you take that leap of faith? My biggest fear is that as a PP radiologist i will feel too isolated and will be unable to develop meaningful relationships because will constantly have to grind to clear the list ( I know that this was kinda addressed above, but if there is more input will be greatly appreciated).

Also @Tiger100 , @irwarrior , @IRattending2021 ,@qxrt Are outpatient IR gigs rare to come by?
Thank you

 

[guytakingboards]

@Tiger100 @2brads @Cognovi @SeisK @guytakingboards From your experience what is the type of people that hate radiology? (and what particularly hate about it?). I am considering radiology and another surg subspecialty (one with the better lifestyles - Optho), and honesty PP ophtho seems as intense as radiology, if not more. Sure in optho you get more downtime and it's not as mentally taxing, but the hustle/grind to create your patient base at the beginning and the constant grind to get more referrals until you become established sounded exhausting.

Honestly never met someone who hated radiology. They exist, but just never met one in the wild.

If I had to guess, I'd imagine people wouldn't like radiology because of the [important but] relatively minor role radiology plays in patient care. Breast and IR are different animals but otherwise radiologists aren't 'healing the patient' or 'fixing the problem'. We can somewhat direct patient care but in no way are we the driver. Some people want to be the quarterback, not the place kicker, and that's fine.

Along similar lines, we don't necessarily get much recognition/positive feedback for the job we do. Definitely not from the patient but rarely from the clinicians either. In early career, I can think of the few times a clinician called me and said my report was great and crucial to patient care. There were probably 10x more instances where I got calls that I missed a disc protrusion or someone disagreed with my interpretation. That's not to say I'm a crappy radiologist; just the nature of the field that if you're doing your job correctly no one is going to pat you on the back for it.

Most patients probably know their nurse's name; zero of them know their radiologist's name. That is what it is.

 

[2brads]

I don’t know any radiologists who hate their work. Don’t get me wrong - I know miserable radiologists, but they’d be miserable doing anything and their life isn’t miserable because of radiology.

People who wouldn’t like radiology are those who don’t see radiologists as real doctors because we aren’t cutting or prescribing something. Also, if you are super anal, you may get depressed or anxious because of your misses. Everyone misses, but some people don’t deal with it well. And your misses are in plain print for all to see for the rest of that patient’s life. I think it helps to be competitive so you can gamify it a little bit (ie I’m gonna make the call that most other rads would miss).

 

[IRattending2021]

@Tiger100 @2brads @Cognovi @SeisK @guytakingboards From your experience what is the type of people that hate radiology? (and what particularly hate about it?). I am considering radiology and another surg subspecialty (one with the better lifestyles - Optho), and honesty PP ophtho seems as intense as radiology, if not more. Sure in optho you get more downtime and it's not as mentally taxing, but the hustle/grind to create your patient base at the beginning and the constant grind to get more referrals until you become established sounded exhausting.

Radiology it's just pure medicine from day 1, no paperwork, no kissing a** for referrals and your fund of knowledge although not as focused/deep is considerably greater, and most importantly is so flexible - if you decide you are tired and you want to move on, you can easily do that and not worry about establishing a new patient base, why many times faculty is trying to dissuade students from doing radiology?

It’s so hard to get a good grasp of what radiology is going to be like as a student what made you take that leap of faith? My biggest fear is that as a PP radiologist i will feel too isolated and will be unable to develop meaningful relationships because will constantly have to grind to clear the list ( I know that this was kinda addressed above, but if there is more input will be greatly appreciated).

Also @Tiger100 , @irwarrior , @IRattending2021 ,@qxrt Are outpatient IR gigs rare to come by?
Thank you

They are around. Not the easiest thing to find. Must be flexible with location.

Also I strongly recommend against taking those type of jobs if you are a new grad. There is a steep learning curve and if u gonna have complications better have it in a hospital.

 

[Tiger100]

There are several aspects of radiology that are great. But certain aspects of it may or may not appeal to everyone.

I will go over them in the next posts.

Number 1:
You have to be either work in a group or be an employee. Now working in a group can be good or bad depending on you. The great thing about it is the vacation. But you have to work with other people and you may end up doing things in a way that you dislike or you may end up pulling your wright more or a lot more than other people with the same pay. Also group always have their own politics. Long story shortbtou can not open your own shop and practice unlike some other physicians.

To be continured ...

 

[IRattending2021]

There are several aspects of radiology that are great. But certain aspects of it may or may not appeal to everyone.

I will go over them in the next posts.

Number 1:
You have to be either work in a group or be an employee. Now working in a group can be good or bad depending on you. The great thing about it is the vacation. But you have to work with other people and you may end up doing things in a way that you dislike or you may end up pulling your wright more or a lot more than other people with the same pay. Also group always have their own politics. Long story shortbtou can not open your own shop and practice unlike some other physicians.

To be continured ...

To be fair very few specialties can truly open their own shops. IRs can open solo OBLs. Some diagnostic rads can have their own remote reading contracts, etc. rads are more flexible than many specialties when it comes to business arrangements.

 

[GadRads]

Happy in radiology. The field is intellectual, you get a broad knowledge base, and can discuss sensibly with many specialists. I recommend joining a radiology case conference to get a sense of whether you would find it at least appealing.

Radiology has its downsides such as increasing volume, pace, constant mental engagement, and liability (images never change and your report is there everyone to see), but for me the benefits outweigh the downsides. My perspective may change when I am 55, or how the field will evolve, but so far it's a good field.

 

[2brads]

There are several aspects of radiology that are great. But certain aspects of it may or may not appeal to everyone.

I will go over them in the next posts.

Number 1:
You have to be either work in a group or be an employee. Now working in a group can be good or bad depending on you. The great thing about it is the vacation. But you have to work with other people and you may end up doing things in a way that you dislike or you may end up pulling your wright more or a lot more than other people with the same pay. Also group always have their own politics. Long story shortbtou can not open your own shop and practice unlike some other physicians.

To be continured ...

I know of rare solo rads. It’s usually tiny rural hospitals. Slow pace if you can get behind the locations. And your vacation is dictated by locums availability.

 

[Tiger100]

To be fair very few specialties can truly open their own shops. IRs can open solo OBLs. Some diagnostic rads can have their own remote reading contracts, etc. rads are more flexible than many specialties when it comes to business arrangements.

I disagree to some extent.

Most family physicians (about 50% of all MDs) can open their own shop. Not all specialties are as hospital based as radiology or IR.

Opening your own office in any field is a lot of pain. Most physicians with their own office have hard time taking even one week off. But it has its own great perks. The Autonomy that comes with it is unparalleled.

Overall, depending on your personality, you may like or hate it.

 

[Cognovi]

From your experience what is the type of people that hate radiology? (and what particularly hate about it?).

The type of people that hate radiology are usually people who haven't ever done radiology.

The very few people I've personally heard of who left radiology were because their conception of being a doctor involved more direct patient contact or being the person who can handle a medical emergency on an airplane. That said those cases were usually within the first two years of residency so, they didn't *really* do radiology.

 

[Kaputt]

The type of people that hate radiology are usually people who haven't ever done radiology.

The very few people I've personally heard of who left radiology were because their conception of being a doctor involved more direct patient contact or being the person who can handle a medical emergency on an airplane. That said those cases were usually within the first two years of residency so, they didn't *really* do radiology.

You are totally right. Only people I know who have left radiology fit your description.

I’m in my 2nd year as an attending and I’m loving it. I feel so lucky that I chose this field.

 

[painballer27]

You are totally right. Only people I know who have left radiology fit your description.

I’m in my 2nd year as an attending and I’m loving it. I feel so lucky that I chose this field.

What do you love about it?

 

[Kaputt]

What do you love about it?

I get to sit at a computer and see all the cool pathology that comes through my hospital without ever having to see the patient, examine them, code them, or try to convince them to be complaint with medication. My work life is extremely predictable, and there are no surprises. I know I’ll be done at certain time of day and I don’t have to carry a pager around. My day to day work is great—if a case sucks or is boring, no worries…it’ll only suck or be boring for a short amount of time and then on to the next case.

I have awesome colleagues, and was able to pick the exact job, practice setting, and location I wanted. I tend to be frugal so the money I make has me feeling like Scrooge McDuck with every paycheck.

I’m quite an introvert and don’t thrive on social interactions, so maybe for some people they sense social isolation in the field. But for me it’s not an issue at all.

 

[Tiger100]

It is a bit of a stretch to say no radiologist hates radiology.

Generally speaking, extroverted people will hate radiology. Now I know some people will say do IR or mammo. But that is like saying that if you like to eat vegetables, go and buy a farm.

 

[Dr.JMoon]

Flexibility in my job is paramount, so could any of you comment about how your vacation is structured? So, could you be taking 4 week trips to Indonesia if you wanted to, right out of the gate or later as a partner? ( Interested in both DR and IR ). I was listening to a podcast (backtable specifically) and IR seems to be transitioning to OBL, with no call, no weekends but I was wondering how does that affect your vacation if you now have clinic and your own patients?

As for the job, does it ever get boring? Monotonous? Frustrated that people don't think your a "real doctor"? Or get tired of intensly looking at a computer screen all day?

 

[2brads]

In my job, 4 weeks off would be very difficult to do. If you were 1099 or part time it would be much easier. It all depends on your specific position. I don't know many positions (private or academic) where 3-4 weeks off would be routinely allowed. This is mainly because it causes scheduling havoc. If you are IR and "own" your patients, this would be even harder.

I don't find the job boring really. The most boring days for me are when it's super light (like 1 CT per hour) on a weekend, but I have to sit there until my shift ends. I get like 4-5 hours of Youtube in on those days.

 

[Tiger100]

Flexibility in my job is paramount, so could any of you comment about how your vacation is structured? So, could you be taking 4 week trips to Indonesia if you wanted to, right out of the gate or later as a partner? ( Interested in both DR and IR ). I was listening to a podcast (backtable specifically) and IR seems to be transitioning to OBL, with no call, no weekends but I was wondering how does that affect your vacation if you now have clinic and your own patients?

As for the job, does it ever get boring? Monotonous? Frustrated that people don't think your a "real doctor"? Or get tired of intensly looking at a computer screen all day?

You can not have the best of both worlds.

3-4 weeks of vacation is doable if you are per diem or part time worker. Not routinely doable if you are a partner in a well established group.

Most IRs won't end up in OBL. There is not enough business for all of them. Anyway, running an OBL is not different than running you own OB-GYN clinic or your GI lab. It means you will have a hard time even taking one week off. Again, you can not have the best of both worlds.

Every job can become boring if you let it. I have not become bored for the most part of my practice. Most of my friends and many doctors in our hospital highly respect my medical advice. They send me emails or text messages to know my second opinion about a case that was already read or many times they send their family members to me to do their imaging work up or biopsy.

 

[Qwerty122]

Med student looking into rads here. How different is the mentorship nature like between attending and residents in radiology versus other fields? I would assume it'll be more personal, with rads having 1 on 1 readouts and that the workflow lends more to these kind of relaxed mentorship relationships. Compare this to maybe surgery where (I think) it may be harder to get to know attendings as a resident. And specifically, does this unique mentorship setting in radiology make residents more happy AND academic radiologists more happy, since it seems to be a more fruitful two way relationship?

 

[Dr.JMoon]

@2brads @Tiger100 Would you say at least 2 weeks is possible? or what is the longest you have personally seen? And would you say that long vacations are easier to get in DR compared to IR ? Thanks!

 

[Tiger100]

2 weeks is not uncommon. Having said that I wouldn't choose my future career based on 2 versus 3 weeks of vacation.

DR has more flexibility than IR but these things are usually group specific.

 

[2brads]

2 weeks is common. 3 and you'll need to grease some wheels and talk with your scheduler. I've seen 4, but it's for bucket-list type stuff.

 

[Tiger100]

Med student looking into rads here. How different is the mentorship nature like between attending and residents in radiology versus other fields? I would assume it'll be more personal, with rads having 1 on 1 readouts and that the workflow lends more to these kind of relaxed mentorship relationships. Compare this to maybe surgery where (I think) it may be harder to get to know attendings as a resident. And specifically, does this unique mentorship setting in radiology make residents more happy AND academic radiologists more happy, since it seems to be a more fruitful two way relationship?

One on one teaching is like dating. If it is good, it makes you happy. If it is not good, you'd rather be on your own in the reading room than dealing with all the craziness. Most residents are fine but just one crazy is enough to ruin your day.

 

[2brads]

Med student looking into rads here. How different is the mentorship nature like between attending and residents in radiology versus other fields? I would assume it'll be more personal, with rads having 1 on 1 readouts and that the workflow lends more to these kind of relaxed mentorship relationships. Compare this to maybe surgery where (I think) it may be harder to get to know attendings as a resident. And specifically, does this unique mentorship setting in radiology make residents more happy AND academic radiologists more happy, since it seems to be a more fruitful two way relationship?

I really loved residency and this was probably part of it. It's great if you're an introvert and you otherwise wouldn't stand out. You'll be with these people for around 8 hours per day, every day for 4 years, so after a few months, your attendings can tell who is studying and who is slacking. That being said, it can really suck if you don't put in the bookwork and can't answer the pimp questions on a daily basis.

My advice is try to get a feel for current residents during the interview and make sure you would fit in. If everyone seems like a genius, but has undiagnosed autism, maybe choose a different place. Goes for attendings as well. If your attending is a giant A-hole and you hate working with them, it won't matter if they are Roentgen-level or not.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that academic rads are more happy, but I don't think it's because of the day-to-day or the teaching. Most academics complain about admin/politics in my experience.

 

[starbuck2]

I really loved residency and this was probably part of it. It's great if you're an introvert and you otherwise wouldn't stand out. You'll be with these people for around 8 hours per day, every day for 4 years, so after a few months, your attendings can tell who is studying and who is slacking. That being said, it can really suck if you don't put in the bookwork and can't answer the pimp questions on a daily basis.

My advice is try to get a feel for current residents during the interview and make sure you would fit in. If everyone seems like a genius, but has undiagnosed autism, maybe choose a different place. Goes for attendings as well. If your attending is a giant A-hole and you hate working with them, it won't matter if they are Roentgen-level or not.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that academic rads are more happy, but I don't think it's because of the day-to-day or the teaching. Most academics complain about admin/politics in my experience.

How much knowledge from preclinical medical school years is used? I am turning out to be a very average student (in terms of grades compared to my classmates) and am worried it’s a sign I might not be cut out for a field like this.