Question About The Most Marketable Electives
Hello Dr. Julius,
I’m having difficulty deciding what electives to do during my last year of radiology residency. I will be doing a fellowship in body imaging, and I’m considering finding a job in a private practice (outpatient, ER, private hospital). I have a total of six electives. I thought of three neuro, two MSK, and one mammo versus three MSK, two Neuro, and one mammo. What would you recommend? What would make me more marketable?
I appreciate your help.
Thanks a lot for all the info you’ve provided us!
Answer
Your marketability will depend on multiple factors. But, the specific number of each of the rotations you provided is not so critical. More importantly, you should feel comfortable in whatever areas you want to practice when you finish your residency program outside of your fellowship.
For example, you may have done a lot of mammo before coming to fellowship. So, in that case, I would opt to do that elective less. Or, if you are weaker in MSK and are interested in practicing in that area as a radiologist, go for it. Each elective you choose should help you when you leave the academic world and start a real-world radiology job. And, if you want to be more creative, you can check out my previous blog on creating electives as a senior!
Let your experiences and desires to practice different subspecialties dictate which ones you should choose as an elective. At most job interviews, they are usually not going to delve into the details of how many rotations you have done. But they might ask you about mini-fellowships (since they are all the rage!). And they are surely going to ask you what you feel comfortable reading!
I hope this helps,
Barry Julius, MD
