A Busier Day…
Today’s clinical experience was a little busier than yesterday. I logged 20 procedures today, which is more than I expected to see in a day at this site. I have learned my way around the facility and figured out that when I’m idle, I can go to another area and find some procedures to get involved with. There is a separate x-ray system just outside of the emergency room area of this hospital. When there is nothing going on in radiology, I can go to the ER or vice versa. Between the two areas, I can generally find something to do. I still want to get involved in the portable exams. I haven’t been asked to go participate on any of those yet, but it’s definitely something I want to do, so I need to bring that up next week. Hopefully I can get a couple of the techs to find me and take me with them when they go do these exams.
Two of the x-ray rooms I’m using at this hospital are equipped with DR C-arm systems that I’m really starting to enjoy. I’m starting to get comfortable with positioning these systems as well. I think I’ll probably start looking for some additional master comps next week. I haven’t pursued any of those this week as I’m familiarizing myself with the equipment at this site. The DR system has a few significant advantages. The primary advantage is that I have an image within just a few seconds after I fire the tube. The second advantage is that I do not have to load and unload image receptors, which further streamlines the process. The only thing I have to remember is to remove the grid from the receptor when doing extremities.
Another thing I am enjoying about this clinical rotation is that I’m with another student from my class. For some reason, that offers some amount of reassurance… I’m not sure why, but it just does. We cross paths and work together occasionally, and it gives us a chance to compare notes and bounce ideas around.
Don’t forget to set your clocks forward by one hour tomorrow night…
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