Who is a radiologist and what training is required to become a radiologist?
A radiologist is a physician who diagnoses diseases by obtaining and interpreting medical images. A radiologist correlates medical image findings with other examinations and tests, recommends further examinations or treatments, and confers with referring physicians (the doctors who send patients to the radiology department or clinic for testing). Radiologists also treat some diseases by means of radiation (radiation oncology) or minimally invasive, image-guided procedures (interventional radiology). Like other physicians, the radiologist must have graduated from an accredited medical school, passed a licensing examination, and completed at least 4 years of post-graduate medical education (residency). Radiologists are usually board certified, that is, have taken and passed an examination and thus approved to practice in the field by either the American Board of Radiology (for a medical doctor) or the American Osteopathic Board of Radiology (for an osteopathic doctor).
