Hi guys,
Well that's another week of uni done. It's been a hard week and it's had its ups and downs but at least it ended on a high and I am really appreciating the weekend right now....even if I do have work that I've got to get done for Monday.
So what's been going on this week you ask?
Well, this week we have been continuing the theme with body systems and pathology which again was quite interesting. I always enjoy those lectures even though there is a hell of a lot of info to take on board. We've also continued with learning about the different applications and principles of different modalities and this week we had a lecture on the applications of MRI and the sequences so that was good. I quite enjoyed it and found it easier going compared to the ones we had before placement because now that I've had my placement week in "modalities" and questioned the radiographers on all this kind of stuff it was much easier to take in as I knew the basics. I find it all very clever how we have all this technology and can use it to visualise different things. This course definitely appeals to the geek in me when it comes to that sort of suff and it's why I'm so glad I chose it. I don't think I could get through it otherwise, especially hard weeks like this if it wasn't the case!
Aside from that we have also been going more into the digital imaging technology/science and building on what we learned in the first year. I really hated this topic last year and I wouldn't say it's my favourite but I really don't mind it anymore. I was quite pleased that I remembered a lot of stuff from last year and what I'd revised in May for exams so that was great. It was all about exposure indices and relative speed and looking again at things like Hurter-Driffield curves and making comparisons. We have a portfolio to complete as part of the assessment for this module and I've got a feeling this module will start to get a bit more involved as of next week when we start to spend more time in the labs doing experiments which I'm assuming are going to form part of our portfolio.
It's been good this week in the sense that looking back a lot of it will be really useful and I suppose was geared towards helping us on placement. We started the human sciencey-type module this week which after my doubt I think I might actually enjoy this year. It's about ethics and codes of conduct and so on which is okay once you get going with it, it's just knowing where to start. We had touched on some of what we did last year but it was more in depth and helped us understand different types of communication styles I guess you could call it and how best to respond. Doesn't sound like much but again, it was quite interesting because of the psychology of it and I think it's more about reflection.
Another thing that was quite helpful this week was talking about risks to the patient and some of the questions they might ask about cancer and how you might answer. I remember being asked this by a patient last placement, I can't remember if I mentioned it here but it was the first time I'd been asked and I didn't really see it coming or expect it so I was a bit taken aback and not quite sure how to answer. I did my best but exam wasn't quite what the patient expected it would be which came to light when I was introducing myself and explaining what we would be doing and gaining their consent to go ahead which we are obviously encouraged to do. So anyway, as I said, they had different expectations of what the exam would involve and after the radiographer also spoke to them about the risks and so on they didn't feel that in their case that the risk would outweigh the benefit and so declined the examination. We have been through this sort of thing at uni in the past but when put on the spot I suppose I was a bit vague as I couldn't recall all of it so asked my mentor for help but at least after that lecture I will feel a bit more prepared for situations like this.
It's funny, and I probably say it everytime I write on here but I always thing I've had such a bad week and when I reflect I can see that there are a lot more positives than you first thought. It's only when you have a proper think that you realise it. It's only because I have been so stresed but I know why - it's the whole presentation thing. I was doing so well, managing to keep myself nice and calm. Did my reading and so and tried putting it all together but just got myself all worked up because I couldn't seem to put it together on the powerpoint so I left it and decided to start afresh the next day. Rather than working myself up into a state all of the next day I decided I would busy myself so as both me and my partner had the day off together which is rare we went out for the day and I ended up buying a new car which is fantastic. I've been after one for a while but it's never been quite right but it seemed the gods were smiling on me and it was my lucky day. I should be able to pick it up at the end of the month which I found out yesterday so it brightened up my week and helped to chase some of the stress away.
Anyway, as I was saying, a nice day out meant I couldn't stay at home and fret all day long as it left me only wih a few hours that night to put it together and practice. It worked and after a couple of hours it was done. So that just left me to practise frantically in front of my partner and the dog who seemed quite amused and knew it so well that even when I was forgetting my lines or tripping over words he knew it so well that he was telling me what I forgot to or should be saying haha. I gave up in the end at 10 p.m as I was practising that much and getting tired so I was making silly mistakes and getting worse because I was just past it so I went to bed. As expected I didn't sleep much and was wide awake at 3.45 a.m and contemplating getting up and just running through it a few more times. I have done that sort of thing in the past bt it does me no good at all so I decided to stay in bed as I figured even that was some rest and even though the presentation was whizzing around in my head as I dozed I figured some rest was better than none.
When I was younger I used to bottle this kind of stuff up out of embarrassment and I still do a bit but I had a chat with a couple of kind souls on my course who offered to help watch me practice and it helped a lot. I got through the real thing and even though I nearly said "I can't do this" and felt like going home and hiding I stayed and I did it and I actually surprised myself. It seems like I'm not the only one badly affected by nerves and stress to the point I've barely eaten the last few days so we are going to help each other through it. Got one more to do next week and a few other coming up in the coming weeks but I am less anxious. My aim by the end of this year is to feel "okay" about public speaking and for it not to put the fear of god into me whenever I hear the word "presentation."
This weekend I intend to relax as best I can while preparing my next presentation. I'm also babysitting my lovely little niece tonight. Time for a coffee...have a good weekend folks.
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