Radiologists are doctors who work behind the scenes.
"When your doctor says, 'I've read your chest X-ray and it's normal,' he hasn't read it. He may have looked at it, but the radiologist did the interpretation," says neuroradiologist Dr. Ruth Ramsey.
In addition to not knowing much about radiologists, the general public doesn't know much about X-rays, says Ramsey. "People come in not knowing what an X-ray does or what radiology is all about. People see X-rays as being so mysterious because you can't see them, feel them, smell them, [or] taste them."
Ramsey has had to learn a lot about radiology herself since graduating from medical school over 20 years ago.
"I was going to stay in general radiology, but then a friend told me about this amazing new machine called a CAT scanner. I convinced the hospital to take me as a trainee and I got into neuroradiology," she says.
While the same equipment is used in other specialties, Ramsey found herself drawn to the study of the brain. "The same technology is used in abdominal imaging, but that doesn't have nearly the glamour of neuroradiology," she explains.
"I also enjoy problem solving in these areas with surgeons and neurosurgeons."
For Ramsey, working with neurosurgeons is just part of her everyday work. Since X-ray departments are responsible for 90 percent of the diagnoses made in hospitals, radiologists regularly tell the surgeons what they're dealing with.
"Even after all these years, it still amazes me," jokes Ramsey. "I tell a surgeon a patient should go to surgery and they do! I can't get over it."
On a more serious note, Ramsey is able to take a lot of the credit for a patient's recovery. "[In] sending a patient off for surgery -- even though the final decision isn't technically mine -- we really are the deciding factor, because what we recommend as radiologists is crucial," she points out.
Still, Ramsey is most happy when she is able to help a patient avoid surgery altogether. "If someone has a blocked blood vessel, we can go in and open it up. This is called angioplasty and it's done without surgery. In fact, people no longer need surgery for many procedures, thanks to radiology.
"I get a lot of satisfaction in helping a patient avoid surgery."
On an average day, Ramsey can be found meeting with neurosurgeons to discuss difficult cases, reading films -- the pictures taken by X-rays -- for diagnosis and monitoring ongoing tests. Ramsey says the tests always come first.
"We feel the patient comes first. Everything else is secondary. You can be paged in the middle of a meeting and you drop everything and go to that patient," says Ramsey.
Like every physician, Ramsey must deal with the harsh realities of illness and death. She says these things have never forced her to rethink her career choice, however. Instead, they make her want to work even harder.
"I welcome the challenge," says Ramsey. "In dealing with patients, I try to make them as comfortable as I can and be as nice to them as I can, because sometimes they're having horrible things done to them in horrible circumstances."
Ramsey considers herself lucky to be working in a field which lets her combine a desire to help people with an interest in medicine and technology. "The technology is wonderful and the machines are amazing. It's also a difficult and challenging field," says Ramsey.
Dr. Blake McClarty is a professor and chairman of the radiology department at a university. He was in mid-air when he decided to go into neuroradiology.
"I was on the airplane to Toronto, going for interviews for another specialty....I never was one with a lot of focus," he laughs.
Now that he's here, McClarty has no complaints about his choice. "It's very infrequent, almost unheard of, that a radiologist changes to another field. They're generally very happy with their careers because there's an awful lot of activity," he says.
Unlike many physicians, radiologists have little to do with actual patients. "It's more related to the front line technology and advances in medicine," says McClarty.
Dr. M. Paul Capp is the executive director of the American Board of Radiology. He speaks about technological advances over the past 20 years. "One of the most [influential] right now is magnetic resonance imaging. Ultrasound [is] exciting -- and computerized tomography, the CAT scan."
With new technology comes a better diagnosis. Radiologists are able to pinpoint more and more what's really ailing us when we're ill. "That's the whole purpose," says Capp.
"The field of medicine is so exciting in itself and beyond that, radiology is even icing on the cake," says Capp. "I would recommend it without any reservations whatsoever."