What Does a Radiologist Do

A radiologist is a medical doctor who makes use of technology, medical imaging techniques such as ultrasound, X-rays, Computed Tomography (CT) scans, computers, etc. for diagnosing the medical condition of a patient. Thus, a radiologist in a way assists doctors and helps them in providing the best possible treatment for a patient, by giving them a thorough evaluation and diagnosis of the patient's health condition. For this, besides being good in technology, radiologists also need to be excellent in their knowledge of physiology, pathology and anatomy. Let us try to know in detail about the duties of a radiologist.

Job Description of a Radiologist

In any given hospital, radiologist doctors basically carry out two kinds of works i.e. diagnostic as well as therapeutic or interventional radiography. A diagnostic radiologist diagnoses a disease, injury or any other health condition. For instance, a diagnostic radiologist does mammograms on women to detect whether they have breast cancer. He does chest X rays as well as chest CT scans on a patient with lung cancer to examine how far the cancer has progressed in the lungs. MRI examinations and X rays of the joints and bones in the body help in determining any injury in these. One area where radiology has been extremely useful is in ensuring a safe pregnancy. By taking pregnancy ultrasound examinations, a radiologist sees that the fetus is developing properly and normally.

An interventional radiologist provides treatment for various kinds of diseases and health conditions through therapeutic radiology. The most known use of radiology is in treating cancers. Certain cancers are treated with radiology or a combination of radiology with other treatments such as drugs and surgery. Then radiology is also used for removing urinary stones, stopping bleeding in a person by blocking the particular abnormal vessel that is bleeding and in the treatment of aneurysms in the brain. The job duties of a radiologist depends on whether he is a diagnostic radiographer or a therapeutic radiographer, although mixed profiles are pretty common too.

A radiologist assistant is the link between the radiologist doctor and the patient. He is the person who assists the radiologist in carrying out the diagnostic procedures. He explains the whole procedure of medical imaging to the patient. He helps the radiologist doctor in preparing the imaging reports and provides patient care.

How to Become a Radiologist

A radiologist's salary at the minimum level is somewhere around $44,000 annually, with the income increasing manifold to almost $125,000 as a person gains experience, making it one of the most lucrative fields to enter. To become a radiologist, you need to get admission in a medical school. For this you need to score very high in college. After this, you have to take the medical common admission test (MCAT). Once you are through, it will take you four years in medical school, followed by a five year residency as well as passing two written examinations, to get you a certification from the American Board of Radiology. After this, you can start practicing as a radiologist doctor or can start with a fellowship. As for the salary, it is pretty good too, reaching almost $90,000 as a person becomes experienced in this field.

A radiologist's job can be quite challenging and hectic at times. He may have to work on weekends or during the evening as well. Nevertheless, it's a unique profession providing lots of opportunities to people who want to help and heal others!