AJR Podcasts

Negotiation is an important skill that physicians are rarely taught. Anees Chagpar, MD, MA, MBA, MPH, and Naman Desai, MD, speak with cohosts Winnie Hahn, MD, and Elizabeth Hecht, MD, about how preparation, practice, and a shift in mindset can help physicians negotiate with confidence and build careers that align with their values and priorities. Listen to their discussion in episode 3 of Mentorship Unfiltered, an AJR Podcast Series.
https://www.ajronline.org/doi/10.2214/AJR.26.35921
*Key Takeaways
The Collaborative Mindset: Negotiation is not a zero-sum, adversarial battle. Approaching the conversation as joint problem-solvers allows both the employer and employee to find creative ways to "grow the pie" and achieve mutual benefits.
Expanding the Target: Candidates often make the mistake of focusing exclusively on base salary. Successful negotiators research historical precedents (like AAMC data) and ask for flexible perks, such as housing stipends, free childcare, CME funding, and specific call schedules.
The Malpractice Trap: Understanding the difference between claims-based and occurrence-based malpractice insurance is critical. If a practice uses claims-based insurance, exiting the job requires tail coverage that can cost between $10,000 and $30,000; this should be negotiated upfront.
Continuous Self-Advocacy: Negotiation does not end once the initial contract is signed. Mid-career physicians should continually reassess their value and leverage employer investments.
*Chapters
0:00 - Why Negotiation Matters
4:00 - Negotiation Misconceptions
5:34 - Prepping Before First Offer
8:06 - Expand Beyond Salary
14:30 - Negotiation Phrases That Work Well?
16:16 - Avoiding Ultimatums
20:01 - Finding Market Pay Information
21:59 - Priorities and Job Stability
24:42 - W2 vs 1099
26:07 - Malpractice and Tail Coverage
28:55 - Money Priorities Checklist
31:27 - RVU Volume Reality Check
36:48 - Red Flags Researching Groups
38:25 - Switching Jobs and Credentialing
39:58 - Mid-Career Negotiation Never Ends
45:00 - Women and Negotiation Bias
52:32 - Institution Responsibilities
56:52 - Key Takeaways and Wrap Up
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*These sections were generated using artificial intelligence (Descript and Google Gemini) and then reviewed for accuracy.

A strong research question can still fail if the study design cannot answer it. Michael Soulen, MD, and Shudaveep Ganguly, MD, DM, speak with host Amit Gupta, MD, about selecting meaningful outcomes, matching design to the question, avoiding pitfalls of diagnostic accuracy studies, involving statisticians early, and building multidisciplinary trials. Listen to their discussion in episode 3 of The Early Career Researcher's Playbook, an AJR Podcast Series.
*Key Takeaways
Meaningful Outcomes vs. Surrogates: Technical success and progression-free survival are only surrogate endpoints. Patients and clinicians ultimately care about overall survival and quality of life. Imaging surrogates are notoriously poor predictors of true clinical benefit.
Flaws in Diagnostic Accuracy: Relying purely on sensitivity and specificity is problematic if the study population doesn't reflect real-world conditions. Likelihood ratios may provide a realistic indication of a test's clinical impact.
Early Statistical Integration: Never treat a statistician as a data calculator at the end of a study. Engaging them during the brainstorming phase ensures feasibility and helps to properly structures your protocol and database.
*Chapters 
0:00 - Welcome
2:23 - Choosing Meaningful Outcomes
9:28 - RCTs and Real World Limits
18:36 - Diagnostic Study Pitfalls
25:58 - From Accuracy to Impact
28:55 - Statistics Starts Early
37:45 - Making Collaboration Work
47:01 - Quick Fire Playbook
51:04 - Final Advice
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*These sections were generated using artificial intelligence (Descript and Google Gemini) and then reviewed for accuracy.

How can AI help predict breast cancer risk? Heta Ladumor, MD, discusses the AJR article by Xu et al. that developed a novel deep-learning tool for predicting risk from DBT examinations.
Full article: Predicting 5-Year Breast Cancer Risk From Longitudinal Digital Breast Tomosynthesis: A Single-Center Retrospective Study
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Neuroimaging utilization in the emergency department (ED) is growing. Christopher Ruggiero, MD, discusses this article by Rai et al. that explores this growth in over 3 million ED encounters nationally.
Full article: Utilization of Emergency Department (ED) Neuroimaging From 2016 to 2025: Analysis in Over 3 Million ED Encounters from the Multicenter Cosmos EHR Dataset
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Vision language models (VLMs) are receiving growing attention in radiology. Kathy Dai, MD, is joined by Dorothy Sippo, MD, MPH, to discuss the article by He et al. exploring the use of VLMs for axillary lymph node assessment in patients with breast cancer.
Full article: Vision Language Models for Ultrasound Assessment of Suspicious Axillary Lymph Nodes in Breast Cancer
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