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Career Options: Radiologists
- officialjustmed
- Aug 6, 2023
- 3 min read
We can all agree that medicine is an incredibly vast field, there are so many career options to choose from. Some of you may be struggling to choose a career or interest as well. So, let’s highlight a potential career option and do a deep dive into the job of radiologists!
What is radiology?
Radiology is a branch of medicine that uses imaging technology, such as X-rays, MRI scans, PET scans, and more, to diagnose and treat diseases. There are two main areas of radiology: diagnostic radiology and interventional radiology.
Diagnostic radiology allows medical professionals to see structures inside your body. By viewing these structures, radiologists can help diagnose diseases, monitor the overall health of your body, or screen for different illnesses and cancers.
Interventional radiology relies on the use of CT, ultrasound, MRI, or other scans to help guide procedures. This technology is helpful to detect or treat conditions in practically any part of the body. Interventional radiology is mainly used for treating tumors, back pain, liver and kidney problems, and many other health problems.
What do radiologists do?
Radiologists are trained to read and interpret medical imaging scans, so they can help diagnose and treat conditions and injuries. Of course, there are numerous jobs radiologists perform depending on their specific roles, but some of their general roles are interpreting results of medical imaging tests, writing reports of results and diagnoses, treating diseases by using radiation or imaging-guided procedures, and much more.
Requirements and skills needed to become a radiologist
In order to become a radiologist, you must have an undergraduate education, attend medical school, and a four-year residency. This will take about thirteen years to complete, but practically any medical profession will take a long time.
Additionally, to be a good radiologist, it is crucial to have the skills needed. For instance, basic communication skills are incredibly important in order to adapt to the patient’s and other medical professionals’ needs. Reasoning and problem solving skills are also important in order to diagnose diseases and prepare for if something goes wrong. Good visual perception is also crucial as radiologists will need to correctly interpret medical imagings.
Pros and cons of becoming a radiologist
All jobs have their pros and cons, let’s see those of radiologists
Pros:
This is a good option to those who may be squeamish to blood and organs, or those who have difficulty working under pressure. You simply get to monitor imagings and compared to other jobs, there is not AS much pressure (of course though, there is still quite a bit).
Radiologists can work in a large variety of settings. This can include imaging centers, emergency clinics, veterinary practices, and much more.
Radiologists can help a large variety of patients! Whether it’s diagnosing diseases early on, or performing radiation on sick patients, radiologists can still save many lives!
Cons:
Radiologists still have long and tiring work hours, averaging around 40 to 60 hours a week.
There is still a large amount of stress attached to radiology. Diagnosing diseases can be challenging, especially if patients’ lives are on the line.
Radiologists also come into contact with radiation. Of course, it is a part of their job, but it is still dangerous.
There you have it! Hopefully you have learned something new about radiologists. If you believe radiology could fit into your career path, we encourage you to do more research and see if it fits for you!
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