Radiology

Is your happiness worth anything? It was a question I asked myself at the height of my burnout as a partner at a private practice.  The answer led me here, to vRad.  And while greater work-life balance was essential to eliminating my own burnout, another key element not to be missed has been vRad’s commitment to physician wellness.

In the U.S., 22% of marriages have women breadwinners over the age of 30[1]. These relationships face unique challenges and experience as much as 50% increased divorce rate[2]. In addition to being a full-time radiologist, I’m also a writer and host a podcast on this topic. Stemming from financial inequities experienced in my own marriage, and the resulting challenges, I was inspired to delve into the psyche of the Female Breadwinner. I learned that my situation was not unique.

Women earning more than their spouses are like pioneers; we don’t have mentors to show us how to navigate this dynamic. In addition, long-standing societal norms still portray husbands as the primary breadwinners.

In my first book, She Makes More-Inside the Minds of Female Breadwinners, I share insights from my experience and research for couples where the women are out-earning their male spouses. However, many of these concepts apply equally well to any partnership. Let’s have a look at some issues that may arise in these relationships and how to handle them.

As radiologists, we make it through the difficulties of residency and fellowship on the idea that if we can just hang in there, we’ll be rewarded on the other side with a successful career helping patients. “Only a few more months and life will be good!” 

However, what traditionally comes after training isn't any easier. The early years of private practice include the same long hours and strict schedules with a vague promise of stability one day.  

I think this reality is often underappreciated among early-career radiologists. I know it was for me and a few of my colleagues. With this article we hope to cast light on these issues and share our experience with a solution that is often overlooked—the alternative career path of teleradiology. 

Practicing in teleradiology is amazing, or it’s your worst nightmare.

How do I know? Because I’ve been in two telerad positions that couldn’t have been more different.

The first one was so unbearable that I left after just a year, thinking I’d never go back to teleradiology again. The second—my current position—is truly my dream job, thanks to great work-life balance, an integrated reading platform, incredible support teams, and reachable colleagues. 

I’ll be honest, I had no plans to go into teleradiology straight from residency. However, I fell into it because economic conditions meant choices were slim as I started my career in 2014. It was just a few years after the stock market, crashed and many older radiologists had decided to postpone retirement as they saw their retirement savings diminish. That meant that the job market was hypercompetitive; hospital groups and private practices simply weren’t hiring. I also was in the process of moving from the Midwest to the West Coast, where I didn’t have much of a professional network. For these reasons and more, teleradiology made so much sense. Eight years later, it still does. 

When I was practicing at my community hospital, I was burned out. Toward the end of my time there I dreaded going to work. Even when I wasn’t working, I was thinking about working. I was never able to enjoy my time off or be truly present with my family – they never got the best of me. Today, that’s no longer the case.

Originally published by Theresa A. Cavins, MD, FACS on Radiology Business

As the chief of surgery specializing in breast care, I’ve seen firsthand the negative impact the national physician shortage can have on women’s health – especially in underserved communities. At my community hospital, it’s hard for us to bring in a new doctor, a new nurse, anyone at all. There is just such a shortage of talent right now.

Radiologists, especially breast imaging fellows, are perhaps the single hardest position to fill in this challenging environment. If you have to rely on your own hospital’s ability to hire a new radiologist, you could be waiting for a long time – potentially putting women’s health at risk.

The pandemic delayed breast care for many women. We all know, however, that you can’t put cancer on hold. Combine that with the intensifying shortage of radiologists in this country and we’re seeing more and more patients who desperately need care.

Fortunately, we can provide screening mammograms and same-day diagnostic results remotely to many of those patients who lack access locally – for whatever reason. Perhaps the drive is too far, or their local provider doesn’t have a breast imaging specialist.

vRad first launched its remote diagnostic mammography program back in 2016, connecting patients and technologists with fellowship-trained, board-certified radiologists via live video consultation. Some providers and their patients were tentative at first – this was, after all, years before telehealth popularity skyrocketed during the pandemic – but the times, they are a changin’. Our telemammography volume is up 22% for each of the past three years. We’ll read 130,000 studies this year alone which means more women are accessing the specialized care they need.