Here are summaries of three conversations that I have had recently:
- A newly graduated physician tells me that her colleagues widely understand that the radiology job market is lousy with the exception of interventional radiology (IR), for which there are plenty of openings.
- A mid-career, highly specialized academic radiologist tells me that there would be few, suitable positions available for him if we were to change positions.
- A very senior radiologist in a large, midwest hospital tells me that he is working twice as hard to simply maintain his expected income; he cites digital pathology and PACS as the enabling technologies that allow him to ramp-up his personal efficiency and effectiveness.
All of this caused me to search the web for some further discussion of the current radiology job market. I hit upon a key, recent article from which I quote an excerpt below (see: Radiologist Job Market : A Transformation):
It is no secret that the Radiology Jobs market has undergone a significant transformation in the past eighteen months. The number of Radiology jobs currently available in 2010 has been reduced by a factor of 50-70% from previous (2007-2008) levels of comparable Radiology jobs depending on the specific geographic region and area of specialization. The factors are well known: current and projected future reductions in reimbursements for almost all Radiology studies and procedures have caused many Radiology practices to “tighten their belts” and read additional cases to maintain income levels. And many Senior Radiologists have put off retirement plans due to steep reductions in their retirement portfolios. Despite the reduced number of Radiology jobs, the number of Radiologists seeking positions has only slightly decreased. This is due to two factors. The highest percentage of Radiology job seekers at any one time are those currently in training. Since there is a relatively long training cycle for Radiologists, this will maintain the numbers of graduating Radiology Residents and Fellows seeking jobs for the next few years. We would expect that Radiologists already in practice are more likely to stay in their existing groups because of the uncertainty that dominates the current Radiology jobs market. However, the instability caused by reduced income in many private Radiology practices has forced employed Radiologists to look for new jobs as well....
In particular, there are definite benefits for the Radiology job seeker who is willing to consider Radiology practices in smaller communities instead of the larger urban locations more traditionally sought after. Practices in these locations are more likely to have open positions and can offer great economic incentives: higher compensation and lower cost of living. Some Radiology specialties have proven to be more “recession proof” than others. There continues to be a solid market in Breast Imaging jobs....Interventional Radiology skills are also very much in demand in today’s Radiology market, as many private practices struggle to continue to offer Interventional Radiology services while the most attractive procedures are being siphoned off to Vascular Surgeons, Cardiologists and other practitioners. The next most marketable skill is MRI, particularly Neuro MRI and Musculoskeletal MRI. Neuroradiology skills in general continue to be in demand most areas of the country, particularly for those Neuroradiologists who do procedures.
I am not sure that the advice to seek positions in smaller towns mentioned above will offer much protection. The article is silent on the question of how and when teleradiology is affecting the radiology job market. For me, one thing is sure -- the smaller hospitals will be the most likely to switch to nighthawk/dayhawk services in the future, at least on a partial basis. This certainly will provide them with specialized image interpretations such as in neuroradiology.
A more interesting question is how the growth of teleradiology will affect the total number of radiologists employed in the U.S. First of all, the teleradiology industry does employ some offshore radiologists who are licensed to practice in the U.S. This number will surely grow in the future. Secondly, I suspect that teleradiologists are extremely productive but perhaps not much more than their hospital-based colleagues. However, the latter may be assigned ro multiple tasks, particularly in smaller hospitals, that may affect their productivity. Lastly, the teleradiology firms are very dependent on information technology, both for routing/displaying images around the world, facilitating collaboration across sites, and for generating reports. In this new world of EMRs and emphasis on IT, I anticipate that these firms will use technology to maintain their strategic advantages in the industry.
Regarding the robustness of the interventional radiology (IR) job market, these physicians are functioning as proceduralists in hospitals (see: The Emergence of the Proceduralist in Hospitals; Two Definitions for the Physician Proceduralist). This type of service can't be outsourced and will continue to grow, particularly for cancer patients.
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