The marimba ringtone on the iPhone. An innocuous sound that’s become so mainstream, but one that jolts you to your senses when you don’t know who’s calling from the other end. In my path to becoming a pediatric radiologist, there were three particular calls that come to mind that led to where I am today.

The first call came even before I started my fellowship training. It was my soon-to-be mentor consultant. The question was simple – why choose pediatric radiology as a specialty? But the answer may not have been so straightforward at the time. It was a question that came up, not just from my mentors, co-residents, and family, but also from myself. Surely, there’s enough practicing pediatric radiologists in the country as it is. The mainstays in this specialty, well-known and highly regarded in their own right, are all very much active, even willing to take the extra time to give out free lectures to teach the rest of the radiologists and other clinicians. So, the first question led to more questions in my mind. What else can one gain from joining them? Even more important, what else can I contribute that hasn’t already been done? These were pressing questions, so much so that I might even feel asking myself throughout the course of the fellowship program.

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