Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Career choices in radiology.

Career choices in radiology. MD came so lucid to the department and so marvelthat even those of guished ultrasonographers and gave a talk that was lously us who organized and I had a high school teacher who was fond of offering bits of real life advice during class. Her favorite comment was the observation that the really happy people in this world are those whose work becomes their play. It was certainly true for her. The energy and enthusiasm she put into her career set a standard in career satisfaction and teaching excellence that still impresses me. I thought of her one day this past spring when a former resident stopped to visit me on his return to a large private practice after spending a few months in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm. Each resident is unique, and this one had been a particular favorite. Early in the program, he expenienced some of the settling-in problems that occasionally trouble older residents starting training in radiology, and he had been heard to wonder aloud presented had barely heard of the chonion were nveted. If there are a thousand points of light among the researchers and teachers in radiology, this man is certainly one of the brightest, and, although he is only in the middle of his career, he is one of the handful of men and women who have made radiology the most exciting specialty in medicine. The debt that the radiologic community owes him and the others who operate on the radiologic world stage is akin to the debt that trainees owe the faculty who operate in less visible fashion training residents, and the satisfactions of each are unique and profound. All of this is not intended to belittle the importance sional ing ofus and careers services can worth provided of those in private by who practice. these spend their profesthe imaghave Clearly, practitioners whether medicine. “Helmut box that lights Though and he had made a mistake in leaving During the first year, he created [sic] ofKnowledge,” a marvellous was wired with flashing red and was to be worn it served during resident as a reminder internal the plastic green quiz. that transformed be patient proud care ofwhat around they the do. world, But and all as more never used, some elements of the radiology training process can be taken too seriously. During our visit, he described how when faced with particularly complex imaging or management problems in his busy practice, he would try to imagme how the faculty in the training program would have solved them. He thanked me for having played a part in his training, and he seemed a little wistful that the practice he was resuming didn’t include the chance to play a larger part in shaping the careers of radiologists in training. I’m not sure it helped when I told him that the thanks worked both ways-that one of the greatest satisfactions in academic radiology was being able to work with people as bright and gifted as our residents and that, as corny as it sounded, in a very real way my work had always been my play. Shortly thereafter, one ofAmerica’s most distin- and more teachers and researchers leave academic life for the financially greener pastures of private practice and as fewer trainees stay on at the centers that train them, it seems important to emphasize the extraordinary satisfaction that can come from a career in academic nadiology. Although I recognize that honest people can disagree about the value of money, those radiologists who have frantically busy and lucrative professional lives simply to make enough money to allow early retirement seem to miss much ofwhat can make a career in radiology so rewarding in the broadest sense. Thoughtful department chairs (and deans) are crucial to happy careers in academic radiology, and fair remuneration and benefit packages that do not require hair shirts and impoverished old age are similarly important. With the worrisome levels of Index terms: Editorials 1991; Department Aye, Burlington. 5. Address #{149} Radiology 11:1139 of Radiology, VT 0540 reprint and radiologists RadloGraphics indebtedness that plague so many finishing trainees, it seems particularly important that no one should have to take a vow of poverty to teach or to do research. Extremely pertinent are the proposed changes in payment schedules for radiologic services, which suggest that salary differences between private and academic practices are likely to narrow. If these changes become reality, the unique satisfactions of a career in academic radiology might be- From the Medical 1 . Received requests Center to ofVermont, the author. Coichester cepted September 4. 199 1 ; ac- September 1991 RSNA, come more appealing to those who ing and research or who are finishing are torn by difficult career choices. have left training teachand November Heilman RadioGraphics http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Radiographics Radiological Society of North America, Inc.

Career choices in radiology.

Radiographics , Volume 11: 1139 – Nov 1, 1991

Loading next page...
 
/lp/radiological-society-of-north-america-inc/career-choices-in-radiology-5Jox1eSyiH

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
Radiological Society of North America, Inc.
Copyright
Copyright © November 1991 by Radiological Society of North America
ISSN
1527-1323
eISSN
0271-5333
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

MD came so lucid to the department and so marvelthat even those of guished ultrasonographers and gave a talk that was lously us who organized and I had a high school teacher who was fond of offering bits of real life advice during class. Her favorite comment was the observation that the really happy people in this world are those whose work becomes their play. It was certainly true for her. The energy and enthusiasm she put into her career set a standard in career satisfaction and teaching excellence that still impresses me. I thought of her one day this past spring when a former resident stopped to visit me on his return to a large private practice after spending a few months in the Middle East during Operation Desert Storm. Each resident is unique, and this one had been a particular favorite. Early in the program, he expenienced some of the settling-in problems that occasionally trouble older residents starting training in radiology, and he had been heard to wonder aloud presented had barely heard of the chonion were nveted. If there are a thousand points of light among the researchers and teachers in radiology, this man is certainly one of the brightest, and, although he is only in the middle of his career, he is one of the handful of men and women who have made radiology the most exciting specialty in medicine. The debt that the radiologic community owes him and the others who operate on the radiologic world stage is akin to the debt that trainees owe the faculty who operate in less visible fashion training residents, and the satisfactions of each are unique and profound. All of this is not intended to belittle the importance sional ing ofus and careers services can worth provided of those in private by who practice. these spend their profesthe imaghave Clearly, practitioners whether medicine. “Helmut box that lights Though and he had made a mistake in leaving During the first year, he created [sic] ofKnowledge,” a marvellous was wired with flashing red and was to be worn it served during resident as a reminder internal the plastic green quiz. that transformed be patient proud care ofwhat around they the do. world, But and all as more never used, some elements of the radiology training process can be taken too seriously. During our visit, he described how when faced with particularly complex imaging or management problems in his busy practice, he would try to imagme how the faculty in the training program would have solved them. He thanked me for having played a part in his training, and he seemed a little wistful that the practice he was resuming didn’t include the chance to play a larger part in shaping the careers of radiologists in training. I’m not sure it helped when I told him that the thanks worked both ways-that one of the greatest satisfactions in academic radiology was being able to work with people as bright and gifted as our residents and that, as corny as it sounded, in a very real way my work had always been my play. Shortly thereafter, one ofAmerica’s most distin- and more teachers and researchers leave academic life for the financially greener pastures of private practice and as fewer trainees stay on at the centers that train them, it seems important to emphasize the extraordinary satisfaction that can come from a career in academic nadiology. Although I recognize that honest people can disagree about the value of money, those radiologists who have frantically busy and lucrative professional lives simply to make enough money to allow early retirement seem to miss much ofwhat can make a career in radiology so rewarding in the broadest sense. Thoughtful department chairs (and deans) are crucial to happy careers in academic radiology, and fair remuneration and benefit packages that do not require hair shirts and impoverished old age are similarly important. With the worrisome levels of Index terms: Editorials 1991; Department Aye, Burlington. 5. Address #{149} Radiology 11:1139 of Radiology, VT 0540 reprint and radiologists RadloGraphics indebtedness that plague so many finishing trainees, it seems particularly important that no one should have to take a vow of poverty to teach or to do research. Extremely pertinent are the proposed changes in payment schedules for radiologic services, which suggest that salary differences between private and academic practices are likely to narrow. If these changes become reality, the unique satisfactions of a career in academic radiology might be- From the Medical 1 . Received requests Center to ofVermont, the author. Coichester cepted September 4. 199 1 ; ac- September 1991 RSNA, come more appealing to those who ing and research or who are finishing are torn by difficult career choices. have left training teachand November Heilman RadioGraphics

Journal

RadiographicsRadiological Society of North America, Inc.

Published: Nov 1, 1991

There are no references for this article.