Answers to some frequently asked questions about being a radiologist:
How bad is the grind?
Depends.
Is there a race to the bottom?
Yes.
Do procedures add or detract from the grind?
Depends.
Do you begin to feel comfortable with radiology material during residency?
Yes.
How much studying do you need to do? Does that need follow you home every day?
Depends.
How exhausting is the work?
Mentally, quite. Physically, depends on your posture.
How easy is it to have a life outside of radiology/medicine?
Easy.
Hope that clears things up!
One Comment
As a board certified radiologist since 2002 I want to caution medical students in just choosing a specialty because of lifestyle (often referred to as the ROAD to success (Radiology, Ophthalmology, Anesthesiology, & Dermatology).
Granted the money with these specialties are often at the top end of most physician salary surveys and have been known to have lifestyle perks but you should not go into a field of medicine just for this if you truly do not enjoy what the actual job entails.
As there are always continued cuts by Medicare (which trickle down to the private insurers) on imaging studies, the net effect is that in order to maintain your salary you have to read more to make up for being paid less. This can lead to burnout (I spoke of this in my blog).
Radiology is also one of the specialties that is at higher risk for malpractice as radiologists are seen as docs with even deeper pockets.
Radiology can also be bad for your health as you are typically more sedentary than other docs, tend to look at a lot of images in great detail (especially mammograms) leading to eye strain/headaches, etc.
Would I do it over again? Yes. Without a question as it is a great fit for me. But you need to look beyond just money and potential lifestyle to make a correct decision for yourself.