The last post was helpful for some, but I’m still getting many questions, so I did not make myself clear enough.
If you are considering interventional radiology, then work through the following flowchart:
I feel most people will get screened out on the first step. Here are common misconceptions about IR:
- IR lifestyle is better than surgery.
Who do you think the surgeons call when they need help after hours?
2. IR Pays a Lot
IR pay is primarily linked to diagnostic radiology. Being linked to diagnostic radiology also prevents clinical advancement in many environments, such as having a longitudinal clinic and caring for patients in such a manner that those cool higher-end cases are even possible. Ultimately, it is far easier to make a living doing diagnostic radiology than it is interventional radiology, so again, look at the flowchart above.
Just assume that in the future, every physician will make 50% less than what they are currently making. Your longevity as a physician and ability to live below your means will dictate your path to financial success, not how much money you can potentially make doing something that you may not enjoy.
3. IR Gives Me DR Optionality
While this is true, this same optionality harms our specialty because it perpetuates a radiology culture within our field. Read all the blog articles pertinent to this topic to understand better how this is a problem. People like having options, especially medical students who may not have sufficient exposure to specific specialties and want to keep their future options open. Just know that optionality in this context isn’t what you think it is. It’s a pathway to do largely minor procedures and read general diagnostic imaging. Most people who were never interested in longitudinal care leave interventional radiology one way or another and self-select to diagnostic radiology, so you might as well avoid the pain from the jump and do diagnostic radiology.
Summary:
If you are thinking about IR but are otherwise not surgically inclined, do not go into IR.