Radiology

What advice would you offer first- and second-year students who are interested in pursuing your specialty?

Keep an open mind. At some point you will change your mind, it’s just a matter of what sticks.

Don’t be dissuaded (or swayed) by stereotypes. Throughout my training I was repeatedly told that “normal” or “classic” really only refers to about 15% of cases, and that rule-of-thumb also applies to the personalities in our specialty.

Specialty Career Advisor:
Simone Montoya, MD
Affiliate Assistant Teaching Professor, Brody School of Medicine
Neuroradiologist and Director of Medical Education, Eastern Radiologists
smontoya@easternrad.com

Does research experience need to be in the specialty itself?

No, but since students often have non-radiology experiences, it helps for those experiences to be meaningful to the student (not just a CV filler).

What M3/M4 electives would you recommend to a student who is interested in pursuing your specialty?

The few RADI 9401 spots (2/week) M4s, but an interested student should try to take it as an M3 to gain exposure and to free up time later for individual/away electives. If you make your interest known to Ms. Lisa Dozier and Ms. Onna Briley, sometimes we can do some “creative scheduling” to fit students into a full schedule.

Those interested in IR should also do surgical/procedural and/or ICU rotations.

Does your specialty recommend doing away rotations?

Yes, especially if coming from a place like ECU that does not have a Radiology program. These are essentially weeks-long interviews, and while you may not be able to demonstrate skills as a radiologist without issuing any reports, you will be assessed on things like your enthusiasm and fit into the program. This is also an opportunity to pick up a project and to make connections that you can continue after you leave.

If your specialty recommends doing away rotations, how many away rotations do you recommend?

As many as possible, and they should be strategic at places that the student would actually attend.

Which month/s are interviews most concentrated?

October and November but continue through the Spring.

Does your specialty recommend that all letters of recommendation be written by members of your specialty?

No. Having a letter from a radiologist is helpful if they actually know you well enough, but doesn’t weigh any heavier than other specialties if it’s generic.

If letters can come from other disciplines, do you have a recommendation as to which disciplines are more highly valued?

Letters should be from whoever can write you the best letters.

Does the academic rank of the letter writer matter?

No; a personal connection with the student is more meaningful than the writer’s prestige.

How competitive are the residency programs in this specialty?

Very (right now, IR more than DR because of popularity/relative newness and fewer spots)

How important are each of the following for admission to a competitive program in your specialty?

	Very Important	Somewhat Important	Comments
Shadowing		X	Shadowing is good at the beginning to see if you actually like the field, but a lot of students discover Radiology. Long-term, it has limited utility in DR since it is very passive; however, this is not true for IR and you should do as much as possible just like a surgical specialty.
Leadership		X
Community Service		X
Extracurricular Activities	X		Since it can be difficult to gain meaningful Radiology experience, having something that sets the student apart from other applicants or that really exemplifies the student's character is often a big component of the assessment. Also, it also provides insight into why the student has become interested in Radiology, even if not straight-forward.
A relevant societal/social media presence is becoming a great way for students to overcome having limited local radiology resources. Most trainee memberships are free.
Research / Publications	(X)	X	Research really should be thought of as "extracurricular pursuits" in the sense that it can be any project that is tangentially related to the field, and may be in education, quality, policy, etc and not just in a lab. That being said, presentations/publications are pretty important if applying to an academic heavy-hitter. Radiology has a lot of options for pubs which are not traditional papers, such as Case of the Day/Week/etc, educational exhibits, and student-specific opportunities at both local and national venues.
AOA Membership	X
Gold Humanism Honor Society	X
USMLE Step 2 Scores			This has not traditionally been used, but since Step 1 is P/F this may come more into play. For the next few years, however, I don't think the programs will have enough data to use this too much.
Clerkship Grades	X		This is not directly relevant to being a radiologist, but will provide insight on the student's overall candidacy/competitiveness.
Top Tier Medical School	X		Programs know school names. Unknown students from unknown schools are risky in this field in which many students have minimal exposure.
MSPE Letter	X	(X)	This is not directly relevant to being a radiologist, but will provide insight on the student's overall candidacy/competitiveness.
Personal Statement	X		Coming from a school without a Radiology program, this is the opportunity to level the playing field. Whatever the story is to explain why the student is pursuing radiology, it should be here.
Letters of Recommendation	X		See above. Also, away rotations are a good source for specialty-relevant letters, but not a guarantee.