Is The New DR-NM Pathway Worthwhile?

Message For The Director
Hi,
Can you kindly comment on the ABR/ABNM 16-month dual pathway? Is it worth it? Can one get a job without another extra year of fellowship?

Interested Resident

 

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I would love to talk about the DR-NM pathway. I am an ABR and ABNM certified radiologist, so I am interested in this matter.

Reasons To Not Participate In DR-NM Pathway

If you are going into the DR-NM pathway, you may find a job after the 16-month program during your residency. However, for most people, I would probably opt for the more traditional route for several reasons. First, you will have much less training in general radiology. For most radiologists coming out of residency, you want to maximize your experiences in general radiology so that you feel comfortable in most modalities. You are replacing 12 months of general radiology with almost exclusively nucs. If you have less general radiology, you are less likely to be comfortable with modalities other than nuclear medicine when you work as an attending in general practice. Most radiology residents work for private practices, with some general radiology.

Second, it may be slightly less desirable for most private practice employers to hire someone with less “radiology” experience. Since this DR/NM pathway is so new and there is less general radiology training, employers may recognize this pathway as a second tier.

And finally, you are pigeonholing yourself into nuclear medicine from the beginning. Most programs will want to know that you will complete the DR/NM program as early as possible (perhaps even from day one of residency!) since scheduling mandates that you need a specific set of rotations. Unfortunately, most trainees have no idea what they want to do at the start of residency.

One Reason To Participate In DR-NM Pathway

So, who would be suitable for this program? The individual that has known for a very long time that they want to specifically subspecialize in the nuclear medicine field. Also, this person should be interested in a primarily academic job (I think that would be the one area where employers would find candidates completing this pathway most enticing).

Final Thought

I’m not quite sure where you stand. However, I would generally recommend the standard one-year nuclear medicine fellowship for most trainees.

I hope that helps!

Director1

 

Click here for more information on the DR/NM program.