Presentation by Dr. Nicola Strickland for Indian Radiologists

1. Dr Nicola H Strickland
President of The Royal College of Radiologists, UK
Consultant Radiologist
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London
Working as a radiologist in the UK

2. Workforce issues
• 9% unfilled consultant posts (>1000 jobs)
• 66% unfilled for >1 year
• not all of them advertised now
• 250,000 exams unreported >1 month
Why?
• Government not funding enough trainees
• 35 extra this year, need 260 extra!
• exponential increase in workload
• ↑10% CTs, ↑10% MRs (more in Scotland)

3. The good things about
working in the UK
• The National Health Service (NHS)
 healthcare free at point of need
 best, most appropriate investigations done
 no financial motivation for personal gain
• Radiologists respected and valued
 by our clinical colleagues
 added value appreciated
 our advice is frequently sought

4. The good things about
working in the UK
• digital systems throughout the UK
 PACS, RIS, speech rec, EPR, e-requesting
 imaging studies transferred via “IEP”
(image exchange portal) nationwide
- nothing sent by removable media
 Scotland, Wales & N. Ireland have unique
identifier, England has NHS number
 diagnostic night work is outsourced
- lifestyle benefit!

5. The good things about
working in the UK
• we work as teams
 multidisciplinary teams (MDTMs)
 radiologists have key role
- specialisation
- remain state-of-the-art
 on site presence essential
 teams with our radiographers
- ultrasound, extremity reporting
- respect, rapport

6.  faceless radiologists
 working remotely
 divorced from clinical practice
 no F2F interaction with colleagues
Radiologists adding value

7.  must act as doctors as well as radiologists
 ask clinical questions of referrers
 speak up in MDTMs and 1:1 interactions with clinicians
 suggest next step in care (imaging and clinical)
 only agree to do the best imaging study for the patient
Report structure:
 answer the clinical question asked!
 only give relevant negatives
 conclusion = differential diagnosis and next steps
 produce actionable reports
Radiologists adding value

8. Report structure – example:
Clinical details:
productive cough 3/12
?cause
Report description:
Bronchi are dilated, thick-walled
poorly tapering….
No air trapping…..
 X lung nodules, X honeycomb cyst formation…..
Report conclusion:
The cough is highly likely to be due to bronchiectasis…
Radiologists adding value

9. The good things about
working in the UK
• teaching and learning opportunities
 trainees rotate to district general hospitals
 teach medical and surgical junior doctors
 present at “grand rounds”
 join intensive care ward rounds (ITU)
 “discrepancy meetings”
- learning from peer feedback
 audit projects

10. • experience a different way of working
• 6 weeks holiday a year (30 days)
• 10 days study leave a year
• perfect your English!
• Improve the style of your reports
• learn to act with confidence as a clinical doctor
• learn to take MDTMs
• expand your expertise
• often no on-call
So what’s in it for you?!

11. get to know the UK!
So what’s in it for you?!

13. • “RadJobs” website https://radjobs.co.uk/radiology-jobs/
• The British Medical Journal (BMJ)
https://jobs.bmj.com/searchjobs/?keywords=
• NHS Jobs
https://www.nhsjobs.com
• Ring up Radiology Clinical Director where you want to work to
enquire about vacancies
So how do you find a job?

14. See you
there
….. !