Radiology

So I just wanted to make an update about what I'm doing these days. I finished an anesthesia selective almost two weeks ago and since that time I've been on a radiology rotation.

I have no intention of becoming a radiologist, but I was eager to learn about how to acquire and interpret radiographic images. All areas of medicine rely on imaging to help make diagnoses and treat patients.

Unfortunately, I'm not learning a ton of radiology. And that, I think, has to do with the nature of this rotation. Essentially, as medical students, we can't do very much. We can't interpret. We can tag along and watch. So my day consists of hovering over radiologists seated at their computers in a dark reading room. Once in a while, I'll pipe up to ask a rookie question. I refrain from doing this too much since the radiologists are dictating and I don't want to interrupt. Sometimes I tag along for a procedure, but that gets old quick. Pretty much, every day is spent inefficiently, which really grates me. I'm stuck in the med student trap. I wish I could escape the boredom and go study and learn some radiology, but I can't for fear that my absence is noticed and will result in an evaluation to the effect of "uninterested medical student".  So I'm forced to stand and hover all day and pretend that I like it.

I could be learning a lot more radiology by sitting in a coffee shop doing cases and viewing images. That's how radiologists learn! They spend hours and hours with images so that normals and pathology just gets burned into your head. Observing other radiologists - whose level of training is far beyond yours - is of limited utility unless they're willing to take the time to explain their work to you. That's time busy residents don't have.


OK .

Otherwise, life is good. At least I get weekends. Priscilla is working a lot, so I don't get to see her even on the weekends. We got last Sunday though. We took a leisurely excursion westward, which I'll post about in the next few days.

That's all for now.