Tell me about becoming a radiologist, please.

[KelNottAt]

DS might be interested.

What kind of undergraduate degree is desirable? Pre-med? Bio? Chem?
Is the specialty taught at any med school? Or is it only available at certain schools?
Are radiologists in demand?
Once practicing, what are the pros and cons of the work? Long hours? Burn out? Fulfilling? Satisfying? Boring?
If not an MD, are there any “lower” certifications that specialize in the field? RN? PA? etc? What is the earning potential for those positions?

TIA,

 

[luvwinnie]

Found this:

The median expected salary for a typical Physician - Radiology in the United States is $276,064.

This link might help:
http://www.radiologyinfo.org/content/careers/careers.htm

 

[m&m's mom]

Both my Sister and BiL are Radiologist.
She is a Pediatric Nuclear Radiologist and he is a Neuro Radiologist and they made substantically more than that, even in Oklahoma.
I know my sister has a Biology degree.
They both love their chosen speciality.
They are in practices where they do not work horribly long hours. They have 3 kids and do not have to miss anything. My sister even volunteers at her kids school and was the Girl Scout leader. They also get 15 weeks of vacation each.
I can't imagine a much better set up.
If I remember correctly Radiologist are among the highest paid of Physicians.

My neighbor is a Radiology Tech and she makes pretty good money as far as techs go.

 

[Towncrier]

My son is starting on the path to becoming a diagnostic radiologist next week. He will take a 6 year combined BS/MD program followed by many years of internship.

One of the advantages of this career include the ability to read "films" at home. A downside of this is that films can be read anywhere in the world, so there may be some erosion to those salary figures in the future.

When our son first mentioned the possibility of pursuing a career in radiology, I thought that he was thinking along the lines of being a medical technician that performs the scans rather than a physician that reads the results of the scans. That is another possible career path in the field of radiology that requires somewhat less training (and pays somewhat less).

Good luck and good hunting. We had the same questions a couple of years ago and, to be honest, still aren't quite sure what our son has gotten himself into.

 

[luvwinnie]

Both my Sister and BiL are Radiologist.
She is a Pediatric Nuclear Radiologist and he is a Neuro Radiologist and they made substantically more than that, even in Oklahoma.
I know my sister has a Biology degree.
They both love their chosen speciality.
They are in practices where they do not work horribly long hours. They have 3 kids and do not have to miss anything. My sister even volunteers at her kids school and was the Girl Scout leader. They also get 15 weeks of vacation each.
I can't imagine a much better set up.
If I remember correctly Radiologist are among the highest paid of Physicians.

My neighbor is a Radiology Tech and she makes pretty good money as far as techs go.

15 weeks?!?!?! That is amazing.

 

[minniecarousel]

Since radiologists are MDs, their schooling is long. I imagine most medical schools have radiology as a career.

An x-ray technician (also known as a radiologic technologist) is the person who actually takes the x-rays. That is usually an AA or certificate degree program at a community college. Technicians can specialize in radiation therapy, diagnostic x-rays, MRI's. Not sure where, but there are 4-year degree programs for X-ray Techs. That's good for eventually becoming a department head. For HS classes, he will want to concentrate on the sciences: mainly Anatomy/Physiology and physics.

 

[Galahad]

Since radiologists are MDs, their schooling is long. I imagine most medical schools have radiology as a career.

An x-ray technician (also known as a radiologic technologist) is the person who actually takes the x-rays. That is usually an AA or certificate degree program at a community college. Technicians can specialize in radiation therapy, diagnostic x-rays, MRI's. Not sure where, but there are 4-year degree programs for X-ray Techs. That's good for eventually becoming a department head. For HS classes, he will want to concentrate on the sciences: mainly Anatomy/Physiology and physics.

Your training in radiology is AFTER medical school, during your residency. Most people do their residencies somewhere other than where they did medical school. Radiology is a fairly difficult residency as I understand it. Also, there is the traditional radiology - reading film, diagnosis, etc. and there is therapeutic radiology - a different specialty.

 

[bananiem]

I have a friend who's dh is a radiologist. He specializes in mammography and reads films and ultrasound. He also does something where, using ultrasound, they guide a catheter into liver tumors to concentrate the medicine right into the tumor.
Here (Mayo Clinic) there are different types of radiologists. I know there are "neuro-rads" that are another specialty altogether. I think there's more to radiology than just reading films.

 

[KelNottAt]

My son is starting on the path to becoming a diagnostic radiologist next week. He will take a 6 year combined BS/MD program followed by many years of internship.

That's very interesting. What school(s) offer such a program?

 

[hemispheredancer]

I used to work in the radiology dept and then Nuc Med at a Level 1 trauma hospital in Detroit. The road to being a radiologist is long and difficult. There is 4 yrs undergrad, 4 years med school, and then 5 years radiology residency. The big affliliation with our hospital was Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center. I believe around here rad techs make $16-18/hour.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

As others have said, in order to be a radiologist, you have to become a physician/MD (or equivalent) first.

Your DS might consider the field of nuclear medicine technologist if he doesn't want to become a physician. There is a need, and the money is good. Here's an article: http://bostonworks.boston.com/globe/articles/051604_nuclearmedtech.html