Radiographer to Radiologist ?

[Dom385]

Bare with me, this might be quite long..

I don't have the best A-levels (c in english, c in biology and a D in physics), rather terrible in fact. Since I made the mistake of going to 6th form where my friends were, rather than a good one. But anyway, I have an offer for a foundation year in human biology (it gives me a bit more time to think while doing something useful). Once I finish that I'll have the opportunity to progress to either a full degree in human bio or a diagnostic radiography degree. I've always wanted to go into some kind of job in medicine and a radiologist seemed the perfect position although obviously this just wasn't an option after receiving my a-level results, and so I decided to be a radiographer instead. But after thinking about it more, and doing a short placement in a radiology department, I just don't think that it's really what I want, although it is still interesting and i could do much worse job wise (it's not exactly terrible pay either).

So my actual question is: If I succeed and become a radiographer and work as one for a few years and save as much as possible, would there be any chance of me successfully applying to medical school to eventually become a radiologist ? I thought it couldn't hurt to ask before I give up on the idea. I know that its not just as simple as applying and that its A LOT of hard work, but it is something that really interests me.

[Dom385]

I did a bit of research and apparently its not unheard of for post grad students to get into medical school with a completely unrelated degree, or would it still have to be something equally difficult ?

Also why does trying to edit a post make it freeze up ?

[tidmasj]

Hi Dom,

I'm a second year med student on the Swansea GEM course. I trained as a radiographer, worked as an AP for 2 years, then as a radiographer for 2 (and counting), then started on this course - I still do some radiography work in the hols etc.

I didn't set out to be a radiologist, but am learning that is where most of my interest lies.

Therefore, in short, I think it is possible and it is certainly worth trying. As you rightly say, it will entail a lot of work and to get into medicine, esp. grad entry, will require at least a 2:1 in most places and decent performance in the exams (GAMSAT, UKCAT etc).

I love(d) being a radiographer and would definitely suggest you look into that (Anglia Ruskin had a great on-job training programme), as the experience of working in a clinical setting as an all-rounder really can stand you apart at interview, not to mention if you do stop there you have a really good career.

Anyway, good luck and feel free to ask me any other questions.

John

[Dom385]

Thank you, that made me very happy! However I do just have 1 or 2 more questions I hope you could help me with.

1) Do you know where would be a good place to find out everything I would need to know about applying for a medicine degree, since ucas is fairly terrible at being in any way useful.

2) Could you tell me a bit more about how you get work as a radiographer in holidays? Since the cost, like I'd imagine it is for a lot of people, is one of my biggest concerns about doing a medicine degree. Also if you had already done a radiography degree were you still able to get any funding (student loans and that kind of thing) for your medicine degree ?

[SeanXRT]

In answer to your questions:

1) Medical Careers, NHS Careers, Medschools Online (some of the info is a bit out of date but it's still a useful resource), BMA, Tomorrows Doctors, The Royal College of Radiologists and of course this forum is an invaluable repository of information for aspiring doctors. Amazon also has plenty of books on the subject.

2) I am a Therapy Radiographer planning to apply next year for 2014 entry. At the cancer centre that I work for I have been open about my career intentions and my head of department has been extremely supportive, agreeing to give me unpaid leave and even some paid study time in order to gain some work experience in medicine. She has also said that when I get into med school I can go back and work as a bank Radiographer during holiday time. The other way would be to sign up to an agency and do work through them over summer.

If you go down the graduate entry route, which I am assuming you would be following a degree in Diagnostic Radiography, as things stand at the moment you would need to pay £3k towards your tuition fees during the first year, with the other £6k coming from a tuition fee loan with the full £9k for the following 3 years coming from a tuition fee loan. First year you can apply for a maintenance loan and then for the other 3 years you can apply for a reduced maintenance loan and the same NHS bursary that you are eligible to apply for as a Diagnostic Radiography student.

Good luck with starting your course in September fellow "button-pusher" in the making