-
IR for someone who really enjoys diagnostic work
Hi everyone,
Hope everybody’s staying safe. I was just messaging to ask if anyone could speak to jobs out there that exist for someone who is interested in IR but also in reading a lot as well. I’m an MS-4 currently interviewing for DR programs and am definitely interested in the interventional side (actually did a sub-internship in it and loved it) but would personally have a difficult time giving up reading diagnostic stuff.
Are there jobs out there that are 50/50 DR/IR or even 60 DR/ 40 IR? I love the idea of being such a well-faceted radiologist. I guess from what I’ve heard from the fellows these jobs exist in private practice, but was wondering if people had more anecdotes/perspectives.
Thanks so much! -
6 Replies
-
Almost every private practice out there would salivate at a rad who comes through the door saying “I’m an expert sub-specialst XXXXXdiagrad, but I’d really love to work in a setting where I also did light IR.”
Add in “Oh. And I also love doing mammo!” and you’re the perfect candidate to be the primary staff at a mid-sized/small regional hospital that is part of a large practice… or a perfect team mate for a group covering multiple facilities.
The territorialism only comes in to play in academic settings.
Become a skilled DR subspecialist who is willing to do “light IR” (image-guided biopsies, pop some pus, etc) and you will be a strong candidate.
-
Thanks for the quick reply! Would it be worth going through an IR fellowship for that? One of the programs I’m looking at has an ABR-approved triple board option (DR/NM/IR) in 6 years which seems super appealing to me.
-
As it stands now you don’t generally need an additional level of IR certification to perform IR procedures.
I suppose it is possible that in the future the IR partisans will get control of the credentialing process to mandate that only people with IR training get through the door, but for now, just for me, I would focus on being a solid DR but getting very comfortable with interventions during your residency.
(But if you’re the kind of guy who looks at a 6-year triple cert program and thinks “WOW! THat’s awesome!” then we are probably very different people 😉 )-
Haha, point taken! I guess I did enjoy some of the cooler procedures that seemed a bit more involved (nephrostomy tubes, y90, tace, biliary tubes) and feel like DR training probably wouldn’t be adequate to take a stab at those procedures.
-
i think you are going to need a dedicated IR fellowship for even bread and butter procedures; ports, dialysis access, biopsy, neph tubes, biliary drainage, chole, and on and on. Either you are proficient in doing even ‘light’ IR or you are not. you can’t fake your way through a proper procedure. maybe a picc line here or there, but beyond that i would consider you ‘dangerous’.
-
Plenty of full fledged vascular IRs do some amount of diagnostic radiology as well. Outside of academic hospitals probably the majority do both. Being able to do both will help you get a job, not hurt you.
The triple board thing does sound a little crazy though. I dont know the details, but I suspect it would be hard to do all the extra rotations in IR AND nukes and still have enough time to learn the rest of diagnostic radiology in 6 years.
-
-
-
-
-
