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Started class
Started class
I started my radiography classes last week. Took my first pictures
today. Now I get to mark them up. 29 years after I got my last
degree, I'm back in school and actually loving it.
--
dillon
Elvis is still dead
I started my radiography classes last week. Took my first pictures
today. Now I get to mark them up. 29 years after I got my last
degree, I'm back in school and actually loving it.
--
dillon
Elvis is still dead
Re: Started class
Welcome to the club!!!
It's always good to hear that somebody is coming into the radiology
field. I've been doing CT for about 6 years now, graduated with my
AAS in 2000 from Northern Virginia Community College, and you'll be
amazed with all the stuff you learn.
One word of advice (okay, a couple, maybe even a sentence or two)
Learn everything by the book for your boards. Shoot in a way
that's comfortable for you. You'll find that in the lovely world of
radiology there are 20 million different ways to get the same image.
For example, on your Y-view shoulders looking at the scapula, the book
tells you to shoot it at a 40 in. distance. I shoot mine at 72 in.,
AP (shooting it AP will "lift" the scapula away from the body, and the
72 in. distance will reduce magnification).
Find an old (not in age, in experience) technologist, and try to
learn as much from them. The techs that have been around for a while
have learned a lot of tricks to make imaging easier and/or better.
But be careful, some of them have some bad habits which can get you in
trouble (either with imaging difficulties if not done perfectly, or
just plain stupidity)
"Room Ready". If your room is always stocked with all the
equipment you need, you'll never be running around looking for
things. An extra 10 min. at the start of your shift can save you
hours looking for stuff. In diagnostic radiology, all you really need
is your X-ray tube and markers, but once you cross train into another
section (like CT) you'll thank yourself for this good little habit.
Radiologists are human. They make mistakes. Don't let them make
you think otherwise. If they give you a hard time, call me and I'll
take care of them for you ;)
Don't worry if you're not an "A" student. Don't worry if you're
not a "B" student. All that really matters is that you pass your
boards. It's just another test. It says nothing about how you
shoot. There are "A+" students who can't shoot. There are "C"
students who can shoot the pants off of anybody. Nobody ever asks
what you got on your boards, or what your GPA in school was. All that
they care about is that you passed. Don't let mediocre grades deter
you.
There are 2 kinds of techs: Technologists, and Technicians. A
technologist has a firm understanding of what he's doing, why he's
doing it, what he could be doing better, and is confidant that he is
doing it the best way possible and to the best of his ability. A
technician is a button pusher. Don't be a button pusher. They tend
to favor "photo timers" rather than setting a manual technique. They
have one set way of doing things, and tend to sit in one place in
their field. You'll enjoy radiology incredibly more if you take the
time and become and actual technologist.
Keep yours skills up when you cross train to another department or
go onto a weekend, evening or night shift. Weekend and evening or
night shifts have great differential bonuses, but sometimes they don't
have all the studies possible in the field. You may take a evening
shift or night shift for the money, but when that gets old, you may
forget the mundane duties of the day shift. Don't get stuck in a
shift where you don't do or learn anything.
"Don't burn bridges". The radiology community is a very small
world. I work at two facilities. At one, I work with one of my old
supervisors. One of my co-workers is now the director. Two of my
classmates that I haven't seen since school just started to work with
me. At the other, my lead tech went to school with one of my co-
workers at the first facility. My wife used to work with one or more
of the radiologists at both facilities. You'll find yourself singing
"It's a small world, after all" over and over.
Treat every patient as you would the president. You never know
who you're imaging. Yeah, it could look like a homeless person, or
some John Doe beat to living hell, but they could very well be your
brother, sister, mother, father, or friend. I've imaged officials in
high ranking offices , their families, and I treat them the same as
some bum that was intoxicated and picked up off the street. Everybody
deserves the same kind of care and professionalism as you would give
to your VIP's.
All in all, ENJOY YOURSELF!! Life is too short to get caught up
in the politics of some facilities. I look at my job in two ways.
First, I am an artist. That's why they call it the "art of
medicine". If you sit back and look at some films (everybody has
different tastes) they are works of art. My favorite films to shoot
were my portables. I was hired straight out of my first year at my
clinical site. Working the weekend shift, there came an order for a
portable shoulder on a quadriplegic patient who had fallen out of
bed. I was able to get a portable, 4-view shoulder including a trans-
thoracic humeral head, and a Y-view, with no repeats. It's times like
this that will make you sit back and say, "Man, that was tough, but
look at what I was able to do". Works of art. Secondly, not to get
all "I LOVE GOD" or anything, but I feel that working in the medical
field is my way of doing the lords work. We are the eyes in
medicine. Without radiology, the physicians caring for a patient can
not see what they're doing without taking the patient into the OR and
opening them up. We help to care for the sick, needy, and injured.
We help to make people feel better. We help to extend or improve the
quality of life. When I started working on weekends, I looked at it
as going to church, and still do in my weekday position.
If you ever need any help with explanations, please feel free to
drop me an e-mail and I'll try to help as much as I can, or at least
point you in the right direction. Maybe we'll even work together
someday. After all, it is a small world.... after all....
Papa RT(R)(CT)
Welcome to the club!!!
It's always good to hear that somebody is coming into the radiology
field. I've been doing CT for about 6 years now, graduated with my
AAS in 2000 from Northern Virginia Community College, and you'll be
amazed with all the stuff you learn.
One word of advice (okay, a couple, maybe even a sentence or two)
Learn everything by the book for your boards. Shoot in a way
that's comfortable for you. You'll find that in the lovely world of
radiology there are 20 million different ways to get the same image.
For example, on your Y-view shoulders looking at the scapula, the book
tells you to shoot it at a 40 in. distance. I shoot mine at 72 in.,
AP (shooting it AP will "lift" the scapula away from the body, and the
72 in. distance will reduce magnification).
Find an old (not in age, in experience) technologist, and try to
learn as much from them. The techs that have been around for a while
have learned a lot of tricks to make imaging easier and/or better.
But be careful, some of them have some bad habits which can get you in
trouble (either with imaging difficulties if not done perfectly, or
just plain stupidity)
"Room Ready". If your room is always stocked with all the
equipment you need, you'll never be running around looking for
things. An extra 10 min. at the start of your shift can save you
hours looking for stuff. In diagnostic radiology, all you really need
is your X-ray tube and markers, but once you cross train into another
section (like CT) you'll thank yourself for this good little habit.
Radiologists are human. They make mistakes. Don't let them make
you think otherwise. If they give you a hard time, call me and I'll
take care of them for you ;)
Don't worry if you're not an "A" student. Don't worry if you're
not a "B" student. All that really matters is that you pass your
boards. It's just another test. It says nothing about how you
shoot. There are "A+" students who can't shoot. There are "C"
students who can shoot the pants off of anybody. Nobody ever asks
what you got on your boards, or what your GPA in school was. All that
they care about is that you passed. Don't let mediocre grades deter
you.
There are 2 kinds of techs: Technologists, and Technicians. A
technologist has a firm understanding of what he's doing, why he's
doing it, what he could be doing better, and is confidant that he is
doing it the best way possible and to the best of his ability. A
technician is a button pusher. Don't be a button pusher. They tend
to favor "photo timers" rather than setting a manual technique. They
have one set way of doing things, and tend to sit in one place in
their field. You'll enjoy radiology incredibly more if you take the
time and become and actual technologist.
Keep yours skills up when you cross train to another department or
go onto a weekend, evening or night shift. Weekend and evening or
night shifts have great differential bonuses, but sometimes they don't
have all the studies possible in the field. You may take a evening
shift or night shift for the money, but when that gets old, you may
forget the mundane duties of the day shift. Don't get stuck in a
shift where you don't do or learn anything.
"Don't burn bridges". The radiology community is a very small
world. I work at two facilities. At one, I work with one of my old
supervisors. One of my co-workers is now the director. Two of my
classmates that I haven't seen since school just started to work with
me. At the other, my lead tech went to school with one of my co-
workers at the first facility. My wife used to work with one or more
of the radiologists at both facilities. You'll find yourself singing
"It's a small world, after all" over and over.
Treat every patient as you would the president. You never know
who you're imaging. Yeah, it could look like a homeless person, or
some John Doe beat to living hell, but they could very well be your
brother, sister, mother, father, or friend. I've imaged officials in
high ranking offices , their families, and I treat them the same as
some bum that was intoxicated and picked up off the street. Everybody
deserves the same kind of care and professionalism as you would give
to your VIP's.
All in all, ENJOY YOURSELF!! Life is too short to get caught up
in the politics of some facilities. I look at my job in two ways.
First, I am an artist. That's why they call it the "art of
medicine". If you sit back and look at some films (everybody has
different tastes) they are works of art. My favorite films to shoot
were my portables. I was hired straight out of my first year at my
clinical site. Working the weekend shift, there came an order for a
portable shoulder on a quadriplegic patient who had fallen out of
bed. I was able to get a portable, 4-view shoulder including a trans-
thoracic humeral head, and a Y-view, with no repeats. It's times like
this that will make you sit back and say, "Man, that was tough, but
look at what I was able to do". Works of art. Secondly, not to get
all "I LOVE GOD" or anything, but I feel that working in the medical
field is my way of doing the lords work. We are the eyes in
medicine. Without radiology, the physicians caring for a patient can
not see what they're doing without taking the patient into the OR and
opening them up. We help to care for the sick, needy, and injured.
We help to make people feel better. We help to extend or improve the
quality of life. When I started working on weekends, I looked at it
as going to church, and still do in my weekday position.
If you ever need any help with explanations, please feel free to
drop me an e-mail and I'll try to help as much as I can, or at least
point you in the right direction. Maybe we'll even work together
someday. After all, it is a small world.... after all....
Papa RT(R)(CT)
Re: Started class
Thus spake papa smurf <jeepsmurf@yahoo . com > :
>Welcome to the club!!!
>
>It's always good to hear that somebody is coming into the radiology
>field. I've been doing CT for about 6 years now, graduated with my
>AAS in 2000 from Northern Virginia Community College, and you'll be
>amazed with all the stuff you learn.
Yeah, I've only been at it two weeks and the number of things I've
learned has been pretty impressive.
>
>One word of advice (okay, a couple, maybe even a sentence or two)
>
> Learn everything by the book for your boards. Shoot in a way
>that's comfortable for you. You'll find that in the lovely world of
>radiology there are 20 million different ways to get the same image.
>For example, on your Y-view shoulders looking at the scapula, the book
>tells you to shoot it at a 40 in. distance. I shoot mine at 72 in.,
>AP (shooting it AP will "lift" the scapula away from the body, and the
>72 in. distance will reduce magnification).
>
> Find an old (not in age, in experience) technologist, and try to
>learn as much from them. The techs that have been around for a while
>have learned a lot of tricks to make imaging easier and/or better.
>But be careful, some of them have some bad habits which can get you in
>trouble (either with imaging difficulties if not done perfectly, or
>just plain stupidity)
Yeah, one of our instructors says she's only been in the industry 12
years, which makes her the rookie of the instructors.
>
> "Room Ready". If your room is always stocked with all the
>equipment you need, you'll never be running around looking for
>things. An extra 10 min. at the start of your shift can save you
>hours looking for stuff. In diagnostic radiology, all you really need
>is your X-ray tube and markers, but once you cross train into another
>section (like CT) you'll thank yourself for this good little habit.
Yup, they stressed this in lecture and in lab. And will continue to
do so all semester.
>
> Radiologists are human. They make mistakes. Don't let them make
>you think otherwise. If they give you a hard time, call me and I'll
>take care of them for you ;)
My PCP gave me the following piece of advise. "Always ask your
radiologist if you think he's made an error. In private."
>
> Don't worry if you're not an "A" student. Don't worry if you're
>not a "B" student. All that really matters is that you pass your
>boards. It's just another test. It says nothing about how you
>shoot. There are "A+" students who can't shoot. There are "C"
>students who can shoot the pants off of anybody. Nobody ever asks
>what you got on your boards, or what your GPA in school was. All that
>they care about is that you passed. Don't let mediocre grades deter
>you.
I had to take 13 hours in the fall of 2005 to apply for the program
(including A&P). I made a 4 and am very proud of that. But my goal
is to learn. I figure that learning will lead to good grades, but I'm
not sweating them. A 75 average is the lowest acceptable, though.
I've been invited to join Phi Kappa Beta (or whatever it is). Turns
out everybody in my class has. It's a very competitve program. As
they all are, I've heard.
>
> There are 2 kinds of techs: Technologists, and Technicians. A
>technologist has a firm understanding of what he's doing, why he's
>doing it, what he could be doing better, and is confidant that he is
>doing it the best way possible and to the best of his ability. A
>technician is a button pusher. Don't be a button pusher. They tend
>to favor "photo timers" rather than setting a manual technique. They
>have one set way of doing things, and tend to sit in one place in
>their field. You'll enjoy radiology incredibly more if you take the
>time and become and actual technologist.
One of my instructors talked about the difference between a
technologist and a technician. She says she doesn't care which she
gets called, since she knows what she is, but that some people get
bent out of shape about it.
>
> Keep yours skills up when you cross train to another department or
>go onto a weekend, evening or night shift. Weekend and evening or
>night shifts have great differential bonuses, but sometimes they don't
>have all the studies possible in the field. You may take a evening
>shift or night shift for the money, but when that gets old, you may
>forget the mundane duties of the day shift. Don't get stuck in a
>shift where you don't do or learn anything.
>
> "Don't burn bridges". The radiology community is a very small
>world. I work at two facilities. At one, I work with one of my old
>supervisors. One of my co-workers is now the director. Two of my
>classmates that I haven't seen since school just started to work with
>me. At the other, my lead tech went to school with one of my co-
>workers at the first facility. My wife used to work with one or more
>of the radiologists at both facilities. You'll find yourself singing
>"It's a small world, after all" over and over.
It's been my experience that every industry that requires a very
specialized skill set is rather tight. When I lived in LA in the 80s
in the military defense industry, people used to go from TRW to Hughes
to McD-D and back.
>
> Treat every patient as you would the president. You never know
>who you're imaging. Yeah, it could look like a homeless person, or
>some John Doe beat to living hell, but they could very well be your
>brother, sister, mother, father, or friend. I've imaged officials in
>high ranking offices , their families, and I treat them the same as
>some bum that was intoxicated and picked up off the street. Everybody
>deserves the same kind of care and professionalism as you would give
>to your VIP's.
Yup. Everybody gets respect. But that's how I've been my whole life.
It still wierds me out when people call me "sir", but I've reached
that stage (age) in my life where people "sir" me. But it's sir and
maam to everyone.
>
> All in all, ENJOY YOURSELF!! Life is too short to get caught up
>in the politics of some facilities. I look at my job in two ways.
>First, I am an artist. That's why they call it the "art of
>medicine". If you sit back and look at some films (everybody has
>different tastes) they are works of art. My favorite films to shoot
>were my portables. I was hired straight out of my first year at my
>clinical site. Working the weekend shift, there came an order for a
>portable shoulder on a quadriplegic patient who had fallen out of
>bed. I was able to get a portable, 4-view shoulder including a trans-
>thoracic humeral head, and a Y-view, with no repeats. It's times like
>this that will make you sit back and say, "Man, that was tough, but
>look at what I was able to do". Works of art. Secondly, not to get
>all "I LOVE GOD" or anything, but I feel that working in the medical
>field is my way of doing the lords work. We are the eyes in
>medicine. Without radiology, the physicians caring for a patient can
>not see what they're doing without taking the patient into the OR and
>opening them up. We help to care for the sick, needy, and injured.
>We help to make people feel better. We help to extend or improve the
>quality of life. When I started working on weekends, I looked at it
>as going to church, and still do in my weekday position.
>
> If you ever need any help with explanations, please feel free to
>drop me an e-mail and I'll try to help as much as I can, or at least
>point you in the right direction. Maybe we'll even work together
>someday. After all, it is a small world.... after all....
Thanks. I really appreciate the suggestions. I plan to enjoy what
I'm doing for the next two years, even when it's no fun. The faculty
says that the majority of drop outs happen in the first two semesters.
But I won't stress out about that.
I wasn't sure when I first subscribed to this NG whether it was
limited strictly to discussions among radiologists, but from what I've
seen, it appears that it's everybody.
>
>
>Papa RT(R)(CT)
--
dillon
Elvis is still dead
Thus spake papa smurf <jeepsmurf@yahoo . com > :
>Welcome to the club!!!
>
>It's always good to hear that somebody is coming into the radiology
>field. I've been doing CT for about 6 years now, graduated with my
>AAS in 2000 from Northern Virginia Community College, and you'll be
>amazed with all the stuff you learn.
Yeah, I've only been at it two weeks and the number of things I've
learned has been pretty impressive.
>
>One word of advice (okay, a couple, maybe even a sentence or two)
>
> Learn everything by the book for your boards. Shoot in a way
>that's comfortable for you. You'll find that in the lovely world of
>radiology there are 20 million different ways to get the same image.
>For example, on your Y-view shoulders looking at the scapula, the book
>tells you to shoot it at a 40 in. distance. I shoot mine at 72 in.,
>AP (shooting it AP will "lift" the scapula away from the body, and the
>72 in. distance will reduce magnification).
>
> Find an old (not in age, in experience) technologist, and try to
>learn as much from them. The techs that have been around for a while
>have learned a lot of tricks to make imaging easier and/or better.
>But be careful, some of them have some bad habits which can get you in
>trouble (either with imaging difficulties if not done perfectly, or
>just plain stupidity)
Yeah, one of our instructors says she's only been in the industry 12
years, which makes her the rookie of the instructors.
>
> "Room Ready". If your room is always stocked with all the
>equipment you need, you'll never be running around looking for
>things. An extra 10 min. at the start of your shift can save you
>hours looking for stuff. In diagnostic radiology, all you really need
>is your X-ray tube and markers, but once you cross train into another
>section (like CT) you'll thank yourself for this good little habit.
Yup, they stressed this in lecture and in lab. And will continue to
do so all semester.
>
> Radiologists are human. They make mistakes. Don't let them make
>you think otherwise. If they give you a hard time, call me and I'll
>take care of them for you ;)
My PCP gave me the following piece of advise. "Always ask your
radiologist if you think he's made an error. In private."
>
> Don't worry if you're not an "A" student. Don't worry if you're
>not a "B" student. All that really matters is that you pass your
>boards. It's just another test. It says nothing about how you
>shoot. There are "A+" students who can't shoot. There are "C"
>students who can shoot the pants off of anybody. Nobody ever asks
>what you got on your boards, or what your GPA in school was. All that
>they care about is that you passed. Don't let mediocre grades deter
>you.
I had to take 13 hours in the fall of 2005 to apply for the program
(including A&P). I made a 4 and am very proud of that. But my goal
is to learn. I figure that learning will lead to good grades, but I'm
not sweating them. A 75 average is the lowest acceptable, though.
I've been invited to join Phi Kappa Beta (or whatever it is). Turns
out everybody in my class has. It's a very competitve program. As
they all are, I've heard.
>
> There are 2 kinds of techs: Technologists, and Technicians. A
>technologist has a firm understanding of what he's doing, why he's
>doing it, what he could be doing better, and is confidant that he is
>doing it the best way possible and to the best of his ability. A
>technician is a button pusher. Don't be a button pusher. They tend
>to favor "photo timers" rather than setting a manual technique. They
>have one set way of doing things, and tend to sit in one place in
>their field. You'll enjoy radiology incredibly more if you take the
>time and become and actual technologist.
One of my instructors talked about the difference between a
technologist and a technician. She says she doesn't care which she
gets called, since she knows what she is, but that some people get
bent out of shape about it.
>
> Keep yours skills up when you cross train to another department or
>go onto a weekend, evening or night shift. Weekend and evening or
>night shifts have great differential bonuses, but sometimes they don't
>have all the studies possible in the field. You may take a evening
>shift or night shift for the money, but when that gets old, you may
>forget the mundane duties of the day shift. Don't get stuck in a
>shift where you don't do or learn anything.
>
> "Don't burn bridges". The radiology community is a very small
>world. I work at two facilities. At one, I work with one of my old
>supervisors. One of my co-workers is now the director. Two of my
>classmates that I haven't seen since school just started to work with
>me. At the other, my lead tech went to school with one of my co-
>workers at the first facility. My wife used to work with one or more
>of the radiologists at both facilities. You'll find yourself singing
>"It's a small world, after all" over and over.
It's been my experience that every industry that requires a very
specialized skill set is rather tight. When I lived in LA in the 80s
in the military defense industry, people used to go from TRW to Hughes
to McD-D and back.
>
> Treat every patient as you would the president. You never know
>who you're imaging. Yeah, it could look like a homeless person, or
>some John Doe beat to living hell, but they could very well be your
>brother, sister, mother, father, or friend. I've imaged officials in
>high ranking offices , their families, and I treat them the same as
>some bum that was intoxicated and picked up off the street. Everybody
>deserves the same kind of care and professionalism as you would give
>to your VIP's.
Yup. Everybody gets respect. But that's how I've been my whole life.
It still wierds me out when people call me "sir", but I've reached
that stage (age) in my life where people "sir" me. But it's sir and
maam to everyone.
>
> All in all, ENJOY YOURSELF!! Life is too short to get caught up
>in the politics of some facilities. I look at my job in two ways.
>First, I am an artist. That's why they call it the "art of
>medicine". If you sit back and look at some films (everybody has
>different tastes) they are works of art. My favorite films to shoot
>were my portables. I was hired straight out of my first year at my
>clinical site. Working the weekend shift, there came an order for a
>portable shoulder on a quadriplegic patient who had fallen out of
>bed. I was able to get a portable, 4-view shoulder including a trans-
>thoracic humeral head, and a Y-view, with no repeats. It's times like
>this that will make you sit back and say, "Man, that was tough, but
>look at what I was able to do". Works of art. Secondly, not to get
>all "I LOVE GOD" or anything, but I feel that working in the medical
>field is my way of doing the lords work. We are the eyes in
>medicine. Without radiology, the physicians caring for a patient can
>not see what they're doing without taking the patient into the OR and
>opening them up. We help to care for the sick, needy, and injured.
>We help to make people feel better. We help to extend or improve the
>quality of life. When I started working on weekends, I looked at it
>as going to church, and still do in my weekday position.
>
> If you ever need any help with explanations, please feel free to
>drop me an e-mail and I'll try to help as much as I can, or at least
>point you in the right direction. Maybe we'll even work together
>someday. After all, it is a small world.... after all....
Thanks. I really appreciate the suggestions. I plan to enjoy what
I'm doing for the next two years, even when it's no fun. The faculty
says that the majority of drop outs happen in the first two semesters.
But I won't stress out about that.
I wasn't sure when I first subscribed to this NG whether it was
limited strictly to discussions among radiologists, but from what I've
seen, it appears that it's everybody.
>
>
>Papa RT(R)(CT)
--
dillon
Elvis is still dead
