Boulder, Colorado has many radiologists in town. With this many radiology specialists, one might assume that everyone would be familiar with what it is they do. This, however, is not necessarily the case, and there is no one answer. They do a number of different things according to their chosen area of specialty.

The field of radiology has changed considerably since the 1960’s. Back then; a physician who did both therapeutic and diagnostic radiology was referred to as a "general radiologist." In the following decade both diagnostic and therapeutic radiology grew to cover vast amounts of information. It was at this time that the field of radiology began to restrict its specialty to either one or the other, resulting in a general radiologist then becoming a doctor who specialized in diagnostic radiology.

Boulder CO radiologists, just like radiologists from all over the country branched off into a number of specialty fields as time passed. Today, there are CT specialists, MRI specialists, neuroradiologists, mammographers and many other specialty areas.

Sometimes, radiologists will read nuclear medicine exam results such as lung scans and bone scans. Other specialists, who have gone through a medicine board exam successfully, may also evaluate radionuclide scans.

Interventional radiology is an emerging field that is quite important in the medical field. This specialty places focus on specially trained radiologists very close to the same bracket as surgeons. Boulder CO radiologists and other radiologists who specialize in this particular area of radiology do not limit their skills to studying the human body. They also perform complicated procedures such as draining fluid collections, performing needle biopsies on tumors and dilating blocked arteries.

Any person who might be realistically interested in becoming a radiologist should place emphasis on math and science while in high school. This will lay an excellent foundation for further training in this area. College students might want to consider taking advanced biology, physics and chemistry courses. Future radiologists are often science majors in college, but this isn’t necessarily a requirement. After obtaining a bachelors degree in college, the radiology candidate will need to attend a four-year medical school program. The field then requires an additional five year post graduate level training. In addition to all those years of education, the quest does not end there. Each radiology student must take exams that focus on the physics of medical imaging and others that test the student’s knowledge of diagnostic imaging. There is also an oral exam that is usually given at some point during the fourth year.