About The Reading Room
Are you a radiology resident, practicing radiologist, or retired radiologist? Do you wish there was one central place to find practical, concise, up-to-date information related to radiology business and personal finance, the radiology job market, and radiology education? The Reading Room is that place.
Why do you need to know about personal finance? The average radiologist accumulates a lot of debt and earns a lot of money. The average medical school and radiology residency program does not teach trainees how to manage that debt, save for a comfortable retirement, or live in retirement. Radiologists, like all physicians, start their careers 10 years later than their non-MD peers with a negative net worth (average medical student loan debt is $200,000). Compared with other medical specialties, radiologists suffer a greater than average incidence of burnout, which can shorten their careers and years of earning. Radiologists live and work within a society that expects doctors to spend more and a culture that doesn’t support talking about money.
Why is it important to keep up with the business side of radiology and the radiology job market? Radiology, like all medical specialties, has become more like a business than ever before. This is especially relevant in private practice, the most common radiology job type. Yet, the average training program does not teach radiologists about the business aspects of their specialty. It also does not not teach them the nuances between different radiology job types, how to find and interview for a job, or how to evaluate a contract and negotiate successfully. Unlike medicine, surgery and other specialties, the radiology job market undergoes volatile swings. This affects not only recent graduates looking for a job but the decisions made by medical students contemplating which specialty to pursue.
Why do you need to keep up with radiology education? At every stage of their career, radiologists need to engage in life-long learning. Part of the Hippocratic oath is to “teach the secrets of medicine to the next generation.” Every radiologist can learn how to be a better teacher and a better learner.
The Reading Room is a place created by radiologists for radiologists. It is a place where radiologists can stay current with the non-clinical aspects of their profession and be part of a “community of radiology learners.”