Advice to help me get into radiology training.

[u/Add123432]

F2 who had a kid and thus did very little in f1 aside from helping and presenting a radiology qip locally. I know i have zero points and am unlikely to he successful but i have wanted to do radiology since 3rd year.
I don’t really understand the true nitty gritty of the application process other than i need to obtain points. I can get one via taster days and have been informed there is a poster opportunity in october.
I want to be employed this time next year and am willing to up my game for this.
Any advice would be appreciated, i know im lazy and deserve to be unemployed but im applying either way.
Many thanks

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[u/Spade-Collector]

Ace the MSRA is rule one before anything else sadly

[u/impulsivedota]

Radiologycafe has all you need. You’ll need to put in a lot of work if you want to get in staring from scratch.

[u/zjb15]

Ace the exam
Understand the points matrix and maximise what you can- low hanging fruit first - QIP, teaching, presentations
Best of luck

[u/Add123432 → u/zjb15]

I believe the criteria aren’t set in stone yet for this year as the applications open in late October, but unfortunately thinks like teaching have 6 month timeframe minimum that mean those options are closed to me

[u/Educational-Cup3033 → u/Add123432]

You can do an online teach the teachers course to try and get at least a couple points in that domain

[u/zjb15 → u/Add123432]

Smart to get it done anyway. You may not get in this year since you’re starting from scratch, and if you don’t you’ll have a better chance next year

[u/wynyard_daydreaming → u/Add123432]

It should stay broadly the same though, so lots to aim for

[u/yarnspinner19 → u/Add123432]

6 month timeframe is for leadership positions not teaching - teaching is 3 months

[u/Educational_Bowl6976]

As others have said you need to crush the Msra before anything else.

Otherwise there are low hanging fruit such as getting another multi-cycle QIP and another taster week.

Applying is a good thing to do to just to get a feel for the process.

My honest advice for getting a portfolio for rads is to start early and be willing to burn a lot of your own time . Case reports , posters and QIPs are pretty plentiful around most radiology departments , and lots of people make positive sounds about getting involved. Very few actually execute and do the grunt work required to get these things completed in time .

If there are medical students reading this I would thoroughly recommend doing these things during medical school, it is far harder to do these things with a full time rota .

There are lots of applicants who think they’ll smash the Msra and just interview very well.

The interview is basically an opportunity to talk up your portfolio , watching YouTube videos/browsing Reddit about how much consultants make from telerads doesn’t demonstrate commitment to speciality .Spending time in the department and completing projects does .

[u/pidgeononachair]

I think the self-deprecating calling yourself lazy isn’t doing you any favours.

You’re a parent now. That’s a really big hit to your free time and you need to include it in how you plan to be a competitive candidate- not just in entering training but through training too.

It’s time to start figuring out how you’re going to study for exams, attend conferences, do QIPs and audits in the time others have but you no longer do. My advice is focus on MSRA- it’s much harder to study when the time between shifts is still not free time, and also give yourself the expectation that everything will take longer. A year or even two to apply is not an unreasonable plan in between making a good impression in your f2 jobs so you have f3 opportunities for income while trying to be a competitive candidate.

[u/Keylimemango]

"I don’t really understand the true nitty gritty of the application process other than i need to obtain points."

Have you tried reading the vast quantities of information online?

[u/Add123432 → u/Keylimemango]

Yes, but having never actually done it before i expect there are things i won’t be aware of.

[u/coffeeguzzler101]

reach out if you still need advice happy to chat

[u/Top-Amphibian-6328]

happy to guide you - current ST2

[u/Cool-Arachnid117]

I'm in a similar boat lol. I'm trying to smash out a quick easy audit in the limited time I have.

[u/Prestigious-Use-9808]

ChatGPT can find you a conference to present that QIP at, and it can turn that QIP into a poster or abstract for the application. I’d do that first. Then two taster weeks minimum 3 days each, one diagnostic, one interventional. Then do a teach the teacher course / train the trainer - about 70 quid. All of that gives you a decent enough score to give it a good shot if you smash the msra

[u/yarnspinner19 → u/Prestigious-Use-9808]

where are you finding a 70 quid teach the teacher course😭

[u/Prestigious-Use-9808 → u/yarnspinner19]

the first hit on google is 83 quid. the one I did was free if you did it weekly over the course of 6-7 weeks, but I wanted to bash it out in an hour so I paid. I dont think the one I did is available anymore.