Those last few sentences, about finding meaning outside of your career, really resonate with me. As you say, radiology is a great field to be in : intellectual stimulation, great value of the work, high pay… what’s not to love ? But if anyone thinks that’s enough to fulfill them completely, they’ll be sorely disappointed once they get to that position and realise… what now ?
I’m applying to diagnostic radiology this year for match 2023 and I’m very interested in IR. Hopefully i can do a ESIR or fellow in it after. But back to your video; every time i have helped in procedures in IR, not once did i ever think i was a “surgeon”. I could be bias since i absolutely hated my surgery rotation, and i promised myself i would never be a surgeon. But i feel IR are specialists who can manipulate the radiology tools and tech to forgo the normal “surgery” procedures to find a shortcut to accomplish what surgeons could do but in half the time. I feel that makes you valuable and different than a surgeon; i would never want to be called a surgeon when i finally become an IR attendee. I don’t know what we should be called, but surgeon isn’t it. It’s unfortunate people seek IR or any specialty to fill a void or to feel accomplished rather than do it cuz it’s fun. But to me, i feel surgeons and IR are two very different yet Similar doctors in their own right and they should own it.
The biggest problem with IR as I see it is the reimbursement. It takes me a lot of time and stress to do a 5-10 rvu procedure when I could just sit at home and read 4 CT in 25 min and make the same money.
One can never be satisfied unless he reaches the ultimate question answer. "What's the purpose of this life?" And there is a reason why suicide rates are much higher in athiestic groups. (I am not saying you or anyone else peronally is an atheist, but as a reminder to be more religious and finds the meaning of little things) Our careers are mere tools to reach our goal, and shouldn't be the end goal. We should use our capabilities to be grateful to God, as well as helping other people who wasn't "lucky" to reach what we reached. That's why the salary/status are not a direct causitive of happiness, rather just a pleasure-pumping vicious cycle. You can see many poor people with salaries barely keeping them alive, yet full of happiness, because they didn't mix their ultimate goal with their careers.
Following you since a long time now .. I would like to thank you for the insight into this field. I WAS considering IR for quite a time but I think I should stick to radiology 😅 would love to hear your views on interventional neuroradiology.
The whole problem seems to be the financial setup/economic structure of hospitals/health system in the US. Do you think this could be avoided by Interventional radiologists elsewhere? what would be your advice? Does IR have to go down this path else where too? On a related topic, Do you think diagnostic radiology will survive for the next 20-40 years?
Hey great comment. I think some of this would improve in a setting where medicine is more socialized and the relative value of procedures goes away a little. I think it’s on the individual IR physician to prioritize IR and dx and leverage both skill sets to their advantage. IR and Dx work will continue to be avail for at least next 20-40 yrs and like other things will grow due to aging population, midlevels, safe imaging practices, etc. there will be work but occasionally it will feel unsatisfying
Hi Dr. Gaur - really enjoyed watching your videos and reading linemoneky's blogs. As a MS4 applying IR & DR this cycle - is there any hope to ending these pseudoexclusive contracts? Are we even moving in the right direction? Also a separate question as I saw your teleradiology videos as well. How did you do tele while doing IR? How do you see compensation changing in teleradiology in the future? Thank you in advance for these helpful videos for future radiologists.
short answer - no I don't see an end to the contracts anytime soon. contracting is part of hospital work and hard to convince a group to work at the hospital without some sort of exclusivity. you might see IR and DR contracts being broken apart. however, the IR contract may not be worth much to an individual or small group. not to sound cynical but I think we will see more of the same. teleradiology has a huge future btw, with increasing imaging volumes and more nonphysicians practicing their style of medicine. tele is from home and generally compensated per case or per hour so can easily add it to an IR lifestyle. bottom line, pursue what you find interesting
I m a second year radiology resident outside of the US and I aspire to become a practicing interventional radiologist in the US. As a young doctor that admires you, do you consider or believe that other specialties might be more fulfilling? You mentioned vascular surgery once
i think check out vascular surgery or interventional cardiology. both are able to practice independently (or more independently) than IR and can overlap w/ similar procedures.
Any scope of direct fellowships in IR without repeating residency? (like if we do Radiology Residency from Outside the US, and manage to clear the steps)
