Radiology Specialty Series: Pediatric Radiology

Post-completion of my residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), I began my fellowship training in pediatric radiology at Emory University/Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA).

Pediatric radiology offers one the opportunity to make imaging diagnoses affecting various organ systems in the body, such as in pediatric musculoskeletal radiology, neuroradiology, cardiothoracic radiology, body imaging and fetal imaging, etc. This was one of the reasons why I chose to pursue a subspecialty training in pediatric radiology. I had an interest in multiple subspecialties and found it difficult to choose one until I found my true calling. Also, I found the pediatric cases to be much more exciting, and I felt like I was an integral part of the patient care team.

My fellowship experience in pediatric radiology at Emory University/CHOA was exceptional on many levels, with our patient population being an integral part of it. CHOA provides care to a diverse patient population with various degrees of case complexity and acuity. A fundamental aspect of my fellowship training which was important to my success was being in an academic institution that exposed me to the most-encountered diagnoses in pediatric radiology, thereby significantly improving my clinical proficiency in identifying bread-and-butter cases. At the same time, I was constantly challenged and motivated by several rare cases/diagnoses, some of which I thought only existed in books. My training experience was greatly enriched by the availability of wonderful mentors and experts in various disciplines, as well as my participation in multidisciplinary conferences and didactic pediatric radiology conferences. These conferences provided an avenue to participate in the holistic care of the patient and in building valuable professional relationships.

My experience with pediatric interventional radiology during my fellowship training was exciting and memorable. I am happy in my career choice in pediatric radiology and urge all medical students to explore the field of pediatric radiology. I would certainly choose this path if I was to do it all over again!

To learn more about the field of pediatric radiology check out two on-demand video series available to medical students — Pediatric Radiology in a Minute and Pediatric Radiology: Journey to Imaging Our Future.