Are all radiologists, consultant radiologists?

[goingbacktowork]

Hi. I am trying to check out a radiologist who may be performing an operation on my mother and can find very little information on him. He is described as a consultant radiologist - does this mean he is more senior then a normal radiologist? Thanks

Yes. He's a doctor who has worked his way up to being a consultant.

ok thanks

You're not getting mixed up with radiographers are you?

A radiologist is a fully qualified doctor who has done a few years postgrad training, so is either a trainee radiologist (up to their mid thirties) or a consultant (beyond, once fully qualified).

A radiographer is not a Dr, but is trained to perform radiological procedures like x rays, CTs, MRIs, ultrasonography, but is not trained to interpret the results, nor perform interventional techniques or prescribe radiotherapy etc.

There are radiographers who are trained to interpret x-ray results and ultrasound scans.

really confused now - off to check

he is a radiologist

What aspect of him are you checking out If you want to know how many times he's done the procedure you can just ask him and his team.

Yes that is one thing...whether anyone has died etc. My mum seems a bit vague about it all. She is having a blockage in her leg unblocked.

Ok - so you want to ask what are the risks of the procedure and how common are those risks. Bleeding and infection are risks for pretty much anything - so don't be too freaked out by that coming up. You can ask how long they've been doing it - and what the alternatives arte but as a general rule of thumb radiologists are highly skilled at putting things in the right place, they really know how to read the images they are seeing and the results they produce are generally very good and without a lot of the risks and fuss of general surgery. Recovery is also likely to be quicker. Hope your mum is doing ok.

Go and look on the GMC website. There's a medical register you can search. You can find out where, when he/she qualified and if they're a consultant or not.