So this week I have been on lates Mon-Thurs which meant relatively long days during very unsociable hours so I've not had much of a life this week. It was ok in the end though once I arrived at placement and got going - to be honest the shifts really did fly by and it was nice to get a bit more one-to-one time with the radiographers for mentoring. Also, with it being a bit quieter out of hours it was also nice to have the opportunity to get to know the staff more personally which was great.
There have not really been many students in the department this week so that meant I got to see and do a lot. I went to theatre a couple of times and on Wednesday I felt so proud of myself. I actually had a go with positioning the image intensifier and taking the x-rays while the radiographers did most of the control panel side of it. I could barely contain my smile. All of the cases were for steroid injections so we didn't have to wear the masks and they were short procedures but it doesn't matter. I conquered my fears and had a go since I've seen a few injections done and they don't seem to bother me since they are short and as I say you are mask-free for the procedure.
The surgeon obviously knew I was a student and was learning and they were very patient and helpful which I really appreciated at the time and am still grateful for. Even when I misunderstood his instruction and made a silly mistake right at the end they quickly accepted my apology and didn't make too big a deal of it but obviously next time I won't do it again. I guess mistakes are often how we learn or at least that is how I always like to look at it.
I did attempt to position for an ankle ORIF the day before but it was more of a complex procedure and the surgeon required laterals at the time I stepped in which was pretty tricky so the radiographer stepped in which was just as well because soon after that I started feeling funny again which I was a bit cross with myself about. This time though, I think it was partly due to tiredness. We had been in theatre a good few hours with the full get up as several cases were booked in and due to the long shift and the funny time of day I started it meant it was kind of too early for lunch, break times were a bit awkward and uncertain and on this particular day as we'd gone to theatre not long after I'd started and been there for such a long time my energy levels just took a real dip so I guess I started to feel feint.
The more I tried to get up off my stool and stand for a bit the less time I was able to and the more I needed to sit down. So in the end although I was disappointed with myself I gave in and just took a seat because I realised even sitting down on this particular occasion my breathing behind the mask was still not right whereas sitting down would normally calm me down a bit.
Anyway, that was that. Aside from theatre I have seen quite a lot of trauma this week and feel my confidence has really come on in working with trolley patients, especially doing AP erect chest x-rays. Others may find them easy but I've struggled up until this week but something suddenly seemed to click. With the icy weather this week there have been a few RTAs and people coming off bikes, or simply falling over so there has been plenty to see and do. I'm less stressed about the clinical assessment I will have on radiographic technique this year now though since I seem to be getting my head around trolley patients and angling the tube. Obviously I will be very nervous when the time comes but now it has clicked in my head I think I should be okay as long as I continue to put the practise in as far as things like chests, shoulders, abdo and pelvis go etc.
As for trauma spines though, that is a different kettle of fish! My brain just turns to mush trying to convert what I've learnt using the bucky table to using the trolley and the vertical bucky with a horizontal beam. Need some real practise there, that's for sure! I know it was towards the end of a long shift and the last one of the week but I really didn't have a clue what needed to be done, and even watching the radiographer my brain really was quite foggy so I need to get practising those peg views and HB spine work so that will go on my to do list I think. I have seen quite a few shoot-through hip examinations as well now and last night would have attempted it myself but the patient was in quite a bad way and the "good" leg couldn't actually be raised which was a shame.
I went on quite a few mobiles as well this week, most of which were on the wards rather than ICU which was unusual. I'm not very lucky as far as mobiles go because most if not all of the cases were tricky ones where the radiographer needed to take charge or had to because we had to work so fast to even have a chance of getting an x-ray at all in some cases. I had a go with one or two but I wasn't really confident in how I'd positioned it and quite often it needed a fair amount of adjustment but this also tends to vary depending on who you are with at the time because everybody does it differently. I should have probably pushed myself a bit more in this regard and maybe next time I will have to ask again if I can be more involved as this is another area we are assessed in and probably what I'm most worried about assessment wise.
Overall I would say I had a good week at placement and already I probably feel like I've made much more progress compared to last placement where I was out of the department for half of it. So that is a good sign :-) I'm on theatre next week which I'm actually looking forward to but obviously a little apprehensive about too due to past form, but at least I had a good stint in there this week which eases my mind somewhat as well. I'm picking up my new car tomorrow which I'm looking forward to. Got to sort the insurance for that today and also do some uni work (or that's the plan). I'll see how I get on, it's been a long week and I'm pooped.
That's enough for today, I'll be back next week with more frequent updates since I'll be back to sensible shifts. Sorry if I've used terminolgy that isn't familiar unless you are a radiographer/student but I'm just thinking to myself what I need to get done and to help me remind myself of a few things for a write-up I need to do at some point.
Also, while I remember I'll put up a link of some useful tips for theatre for anyone else who struggles like me. I found it a few months ago and saved it for my theatre week as I thought it gave good advice and made me look at it from another perspective which is probably better than how I was looking at it previously. Anyway, here it is: Top 20 Practical Tips for Radiographers in the Operating Theatre
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