The Future of Radiology: Lessons from the Stoics

Abstract

Radiology is in turmoil. Hospitals are operating at near-zero financial margins, and many are predicted to close within the next 5 years. At the same time, radiology has moved from a profit center with abundant capital support to a cost center with inadequate service levels, poor alignment with hospital leadership, and questionable stipend support of radiologists. Many groups are having difficulty meeting the current environment that demands around-theclock final reads and interventional radiology coverage, subspecialty expertise, and more-stringent service levels in terms of quality, turnaround time, and physician outreach. Many leaders within the ACR have written extensively on these topics and have offered meaningful and practical proposals for meeting these challenges. The fate of our profession clearly depends, in large part, on how radiologists react to such pressures over the next few years. What is not so evident is the critical relationship between professional success and personal happiness. We have been taught that success (material or academic) will lead to happiness. So, if we focus on acquiring more money, more titles, and more accolades, we will become happier. The equation, however, is actually the reverse: Happiness is a better predictor of success than success is of happiness. Therefore, if we understand and apply the evidence-based