Table 3.

Select quotes from focus group by specific themes.

Stereotypes

(Negative) “You are the one making the diagnosis for all the patients in the hospital, but the doctors are not thanking you, the patients aren’t thanking you”

(Negative) “Living in darkness” or “Basement-dwellers”

(Neutral) “Shadow of other stereotypes … the musculoskeletal radiology reading room, they’re kind of like ortho bros”

(Positive) “They were all very relaxed”

(Positive) “Balance work with family life”

COVID-19

“I found that the technological adeptness of radiologists in particular was superior to people in other specialties”

“I think it really underscores how uniquely radiology relies on technology”

Developments in the field

AI will “supplement but not supplant”

“Will I get replaced by a robot?”

Barriers to applying

“There’s a lot of emphasis placed on like Step 1 and Step 2, Step one is not really a factor anymore”

Length of training “was certainly something I took into consideration, I’ve got two kids”

“Barrier for me was finding a mentor”

Impressions based on exposure

(Initial impression) “Not at the cultural forefront of what you imagine being a doctor when you grow up”

(Initial impression) “I don’t think I would have sought out any experiences, because it wasn’t on my list”

(Over time) “Having more exposure to radiology and radiologists… would be a great recruitment”

(Over time) “Medical students might be more apt to consider it seriously if early exposure in an integrated fashion”

Hospital integration

“They kind of function as a consultant to all the different services”

“I feel like they’re pretty central to a lot of specialties.”