Radiograph (x-ray) of hands.
The medical professionals known collectively as interventional radiologists make use of high-tech imaging equipment to diagnose and treat human diseases. Qualified by years of education and training, aided by advanced technology and other health-care professionals, their efforts, both individually and collectively, permit many to be restored to health often without the need for invasive surgery or hospitalization.
History of Interventionalism
Interventionalism, as pertains to radiology, cardiology and neuroradiology, has its roots in the scientific thinking processes of cardiologists, radiologists and other doctors who were pushing science and medicine into the future. Werner Forssmann, a surgical resident in Germany, made a significant contribution to the effort when in 1929 he took x-rays of a catheter he'd inserted into his own antecubital vein. His work encountered rejection at first, but other doctors soon began using catheters in heart treatment procedures.
Get Interventional Radiology Certification
To become a medical professional in the field of interventional radiology--medical doctors using imaging technology to perform diagnoses and formulate approaches to treatment--requires 1 to 4 years of education for an entry-level position as a radiology technologist. To rise to the level of radiologist requires completion of four years of undergraduate studies, four years of medical school and another four years in a residency program. Certification is attained by passing an exam administered by the American Board of Radiology, followed by a one-year fellowship which, like the four-year residency, is a paid training program.
What Are Salaries For Certified Interventional Radiologists?
On a national level, diagnostic radiologists earn salaries that range from approximately $227,000 to $317,000 annually. Non-interventional radiologists earn an average salary of $315,000 per year. Interventional radiologists (IRs) earn the highest salaries--ranging from a low of $286,500 to a high of $401,000--on an annual basis with some interventional radiologists earning salaries are as high as $568,125 annually.
What Are the Benefits of Interventional Radiologist Certification?
The benefits of interventional radiologist certification are readily recognized when considering things from the patient's perspective. A patient under the care of a medical team that includes an IR has a board-certified physician specializing in minimally invasive medical treatment procedures on their side. Many conditions that once required surgery can be treated non-surgically by interventional radiologists. Interventional radiologists, the pioneers of minimally invasive medicine, offer treatments that are less risky, less painful and require less recovery time than open surgery.
Considerations
Interventional Radiology Certification requires significant investments of time and effort, but the successful candidate is rewarded with a career in a medical discipline that has already made treatment options available that are more desirable than surgery and that can reasonably be expected to increase the number of such options in the future.
Tags: four years, Interventional Radiology, Interventional Radiology Certification, radiologists earn, Radiology Certification, interventional radiologists
