New Perspectives: Small Steps Build Confidence in Radiology Match Journey
By Melissa Lou Silva, MD
December 2025;18(6):7
“Great things are not done by impulse but by a series of small things brought together.”
This is the thought that has carried me through uncertainty while adapting to the academic culture in the United States and applying for radiology residency. Each step on my journey has played a small part in helping me develop into a radiologist who will one day impact patients’ lives.
I moved from Brazil to the U.S. to learn from those pushing the edges of knowledge in medicine. At the University of California San Diego (UCSD), I balanced medical board exams and clinical rotations while immersed in translational research. Starting in MRI physics and later transitioning to body-imaging research with the UCSD Liver Imaging Group (LIG), I dove deep into performing scans, analyzing images, observing meetings, attending conferences, writing papers, learning, and teaching — the transformative experience I had been seeking to earn a place in academic medicine.
In my first week with the group, I was asked to present our recent findings to the team the following day. I accepted the challenge and spent the night studying the topic. It was the first of many moments that helped me develop. What makes the LIG special is a shared passion for science and a commitment to helping one another grow and lead. Learning from a community where curiosity and generosity coexist has been deeply meaningful to my professional development.
I gave another presentation shortly after submitting my ERAS application. My experience at that conference provided a lesson on leadership. Following two sleepless nights refining my oral presentation, I sat quietly in a corner, waiting for my room to be ready and trying to get a moment of rest. I was caught by surprise when a generous mentor approached with someone beside him and said, pointing at me, “That’s the girl I wanted you to meet — she’s interviewing with you this interview season.” She was the program director at a hospital where I had worked hard to earn an interview.
Full of energy, she began talking about the program and asking questions about me, fostering a meaningful connection. Her enthusiasm wasn’t just directed at me personally. It reflected the way a true leader engages with a peer: curious and attentive. We chatted for a while before she gently said, “Oops! I’m late for my talk — they’re waiting for me. I’ll check your shear wave elastography presentation,” and calmly hurried off.
I joined her session and later saw her speaking to another peer with the same bright energy. I paused for a moment, reflecting on the contrast between us. At the peak of exhaustion, I was relying only on what was intrinsic to me to respond. That exchange with someone young but with a strong academic background, balancing so much yet remaining fully engaged, reminded me that leadership emerges through countless hours of experience, preparing individuals to communicate their purpose with clarity whenever the opportunity arises.
During the Match, one can easily fall into a cycle of insecurity if intentional effort isn’t made to redirect that energy. It has been challenging for me, but an opportunity to recognize my weaknesses and work on them to strengthen my communication and analytical skills.
Residency interview season has been a big contributor to my growth and maturity. It has required me to analyze each program to see whether it’s a good fit, prepare for what interviewers may want, and reflect honestly on whether I truly align with that environment.
As I move through the season, I have applied broadly across the U.S., leaning toward hospitals that cultivate a culture of knowledge sharing and offer strong clinical volume. Beyond the goal of matching into diagnostic radiology, I want to pursue a path that leads me to support radiologists in addressing the growing workload and workforce shortage.
Dr. Silva is a medical doctor from the State University of Ceará, Brazil, and a research collaborator with the Liver Imaging Group at the University of California San Diego. Her interest in radiology began in medical school, when she founded a medical device startup that sparked her curiosity about technology’s role in health care. Melissa is a member of the Radiological Society of North America, the Society for Advanced Body Imaging, and the American Association for Women Radiologists. Her hobbies include horseback riding, exploring modern art, playing foosball and Pictionary with friends, enjoying sushi, photography, and watching thrillers.
You can find her on X @MelissaLouMD.
