Recent checks with radiology department chairs from across the nation found them brimming with optimism about the number of medical school graduates who are applying for residency programs. They say that the people who are applying for radiology residency often are at the top of the medical school class and that there are more of them than ever before.

Recall that just a few years ago, radiology residencies sometimes went begging, and some departments left slots unfilled. Now it appears that all slots will be occupied and with graduates who, on the whole, have the potential to bring more luster to the specialty.

As I write this, the residency match has not been completed, so making projections is a bit risky. Department chairs note, for example, that the computerized match process makes it easier to apply at multiple institutions, so the size of the residency pool may seem much bigger than it actually is. Even discounting this factor, though, the evidence so far indicates that more young and highly motivated physicians are being drawn to radiology.

It's easy to feel good about something like that. The popularity of radiology, which has been increasing ever since the job bust of the mid-1990s, is bound to give the specialty more status among its medical peers, in industry, in science, and in government. Even those already in practice, and perhaps coming from less prosperous times, will benefit from the infusion of energy that this phenomenon brings.

Department chairs offer other observations as well. The new residents are increasingly computer literate. This will give them a leg up in dealing with a host of emerging issues in radiology, including PACS and informatics, 3-D imaging, data mining, and computer-assisted diagnosis. Many of the new residents have backgrounds in molecular biology, an advantage if predictions that radiology's future lies in molecular imaging prove accurate.

Department chairs generally describe this class as excited about the changes in medicine and the opportunities in radiology, a high-technology field that has broad exposure to all aspects of medicine.

Against this backdrop, we must consider another factor: Radiology is swimming in prosperity and high salaries. Residents of years past might have expected to earn good incomes, but nothing like what they could look forward to today. A survey by the Merritt Hawkins physician recruiting group found that entry-level salaries for radiologists jumped from $225,000 in 2000 to $271,000 in 2001.

Another study, published in Radiology in October, combined help wanted and American Medical Association salary data to plot the "relative attractiveness" of radiology jobs for 10 years beginning in 1990. The study's conclusion: The economic strength of a specialty plays a role in the medical student's decision to enter that specialty. No big surprise there, but the study also raises a cautionary note that bears repeating-with a relatively long training period, that economic strength may not exist when today's beginning residents are ready to enter the workforce.

In fact, most predictions are for continued high demand for radiology services for many years to come. If that comes to pass, today's residents probably won't be disappointed when they start looking for jobs. But, as we have seen in the past, things can change rapidly.

All these considerations notwithstanding, let us wish today's residents the best of luck in their medical careers. No matter what their reasons for being here, they are the future of medical imaging, and we will share in their success.

John C. Hayes, editor

What are your thoughts on this topic? Please e-mail me at jhayes@cmp.com