Pre-comps
This is a photo I made back in May through the window of a van as I approached Mesa Verde in southern Colorado with a group of people from school on our “Southwest Adventure.”
I finally got some of my pre-comps done in clinical today. I didn’t get the chance to do any KUB or erect abdomens though. I got four of the five pre-comps on the CXR series though (both PA and Lateral). I should be able to get the fifth pre-comp next Thursday and then the master comp as well. Once I get the master comp, I’ll be able to perform chest x-rays unattended. I’m looking forward to that. I’ll actually become useful at the clinical site when I can do some of their work on my own without requiring supervision.
The KUB and erect abdomen x-rays are much less frequent at my clinical site than the CXR. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to complete my comps on those during my first 8 weeks or not. I need to ask my clinical coordinator about an alternative though. Whenever we do the small bowel series and the barium enemas, there is a ’scout’ x-ray done prior to those exams that is basically a KUB. I need to ask her if I can use that scout x-ray as a KUB pre-comp and comp since the positioning is identical. We’ll wait and see what she says. I should have an answer before my clinical next Thursday.
My confidence is definitely up. I didn’t have to repeat any of my exams today. My lateral chest x-rays could be a little better. I’m finding that getting those perfectly straight is a challenge. I have had a very slight amount of rotation in each of them, but the rotation is well within the allowable limits. I almost wish the wall bucky had some arms that extended out to help line the patient up for that exam. They would obviously have to be retracted before the x-ray was made though. I think the hospital gown that my patients are wearing is making it more difficult for me to line them up for that exam. It makes it a little more difficult to see that their back is where I want it to be.
My school week is over, but I have plenty of studying to do. I’m running a little behind on my medical terminology, so I’ll get that caught up this weekend.
** QUESTION **
I have run into another issue that I could use some help with. When we bring a patient into the exam room, we have a short questionnaire that we either fill out or have them fill out while they are in the waiting room. This form asks the patient about any medications that they are currently taking. When a patient rattles these drug names off to me, I have no clue how to spell any of them. It feels very awkward for me when I’m doing this. Is there somewhere I can go to get a list of maybe 100 or 200 of the most commonly prescribed medications just so I can learn how to spell them and get a brief idea of what they are? I could take a pharmacology class I guess, but that seems like a bit of an overkill for what I’m doing.
Any thoughts or suggestions on that would be greatly appreciated :)