Veteran pediatrician urges young physicians to build relationships with radiologists
A veteran Boston-based pediatrician is urging medical trainees and young physicians to build relationships with radiologists.
Eleanor R. Menzin, MD, made her case in an essay published Monday by JAMA Internal Medicine. Menzin—who completed her residency at Boston Children’s and still works there 20-plus years later—recalled daily rounding with rads as a “cornerstone of my training.”
“During those years, I met radiologists of all persuasions: ebullient and enthusiastic teachers, reserved and pensive thinkers, and gruffly intimidating experts,” she wrote June 9. “Those daily visits, like the annual well visit between physician and patient, built relationships; I knew whom to query when I encountered a diagnostic dilemma,” Menzin added later.
Nowadays, however, residents go to radiology rounds “weekly, at most.” Often, these encounters “lack the grittiness and the persistent work of learning about each other.” Absent this relationship-building, she believes many physicians may forget to turn to radiologists later in their careers when they reach a clinical dilemma.
“By rebuilding the custom of frequent visits and conversations, we can get to know each other again. From that foundation, young physicians will discover the tremendous resource of the radiologist’s wisdom,” she wrote. “When I am baffled or in over my head, I step back, head downstairs, sit in a dim room, and request a fresh perspective. Almost invariably, it is an illuminating experience.”
Read the full essay in JAMA here (log in required).
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.