Yasha Gupta, MD and the Future Radiology Residents Movement
“Radiology is one of the diverse specialties – not just in pathology, but also in lifestyle. Radiology caters to a wide range of personal interests, including those who like procedures, those who like overnight call, those who do not like overnight call, those who are interested in pediatrics, those who are interested in women’s health… the list goes on. This is likely why radiology was the highest back-up specialty per the NRMP. It caters to everyone. ”
Why did you start Future Radiology Residents?
Many medical students find radiology late in medical school—often during third or fourth year. By then, most medical students have already taken their step exams, participated in a number of volunteer activities and interest groups, and held leadership positions in national organizations. When students find a specialty late, this can incite a state of panic having spent so many years thinking about another specialty. If you talk to many radiologists, you will find that they, too, either transferred from another specialty or found radiology late in the game.
After doing some research, I learned that most medical schools do not have a required radiology rotation, despite the fact that radiology is utilized daily in medicine. In fact, many students schedule radiology rotations late, often even after Match, to have some downtime before starting residency.
To me, this was very problematic. Radiology is one of the diverse specialties – not just in pathology, but also in lifestyle. Radiology caters to a wide range of personal interests, including those who like procedures, those who like overnight call, those who do not like overnight call, those who are interested in pediatrics, those who are interested in women’s health… the list goes on. This is likely why radiology was the highest back-up specialty per the NRMP. It caters to everyone.
These are the reasons why I created Future Radiology Residents. I wanted to show medical students how diverse and rich our specialty is and hopefully capture them earlier than their third year of medical school (or at least, earlier than they would have learned about it otherwise). Furthermore, radiology is often seen as the boring, dark-room specialty. Highlighting various subspecialties can shed light on how many subspecialties exist, and how different they really are.
How can people interact with Future Radiology Residents?
On Twitter, Future Radiology Residents has over 3,000 followers and people can interact with us there @FutureRadRes. The #FutureRadRes hashtag may be used for content that is pertinent to future radiology residents.
We are currently looking for ambitious medical students to apply to join our Executive Board (applications due August 1, 2021). Information to apply is available on Twitter @FutureRadRes.
What are your plans for Future Radiology Residents?
There is so much more work to be done, and we are just at the beginning stages. However, I am very excited to see where this leads. Most recently, we had our first Virtual Interest Group about Public Service Loan Forgiveness. I hope we can expand and capture even more medical students as time goes on.
You also have a successful YouTube channel. Can you tell me more about this?
I have produced over 60 YouTube videos to date, many of which provide advice from my experience as an intern and radiology resident. I also post videos that help potential future radiologists and others understand what it is like to be a radiologist such as “A Day in the Life of a Radiology Resident”, “A Night in the Life of a Radiology Resident” and “What a Radiologist Really Does”. With my videos, I also try to bust myths about radiology and shed light on what a career in radiology can look like by interviewing radiologists in a variety of specialties. People can find me on YouTube by clicking this link.
Do you want to contribute to The Radiology Review Journal?
The article submission process is simple: email your proposed article to theradiologyreview@gmail.com. Include with your article your name and professional affiliation. Your best writing is welcome with no specific word limit or formatting requirements. If presenting material wherein references are appropriate, or websites are discussed, please provide a reference section at the end of the article in any reasonable format. Submission of every article is appreciated but submission does not guarantee publication. Click here for more information.
