I spent this week at another hospital where I got to spend a bit of time in the catheterisation lab and also see my fair share of barium swallows and barium enemas. This week threw up all kinds of surprises: some good and bad! I was really looking forward to going back since I had such good experience last time I went but for some reason I was at a loss and just didn't feel like I was (or could) fit in no matter how hard I tried which was tough.
The week started off well and I spent my first day in the cath lab. I didn't really know what to expect so didn't go I went in there with an open mind and I absolutely loved it. It was the most enjoyable part of the week because I was so amazed at what can be done. I saw several cardiac angiograms and it was amazing to see the heart and the coronary arteries in real time. It was nice to get to spend some time with a nurse, an echocardiographer and a nursing student as well and be working together. The radiographers and other professionals seemed to really appreciate me asking questions and showing an interest. The doctor carrying out the procedures was also fabulous and didn't seem to mind taking the time to explain things to me after each examination and going through some of the images and pathologies we could see which was fantastic.
I have a much better knowledge know of the coronary arteries, the heart and the blood vessels. It truly was amazing to see. Besides cardiac angios I also got to see several pacemakers fitted which at first seemed strange because not having any knowledge of them really or ow they are fitted I thought the patient would be anaesthetised but they are not. It's just a local anaesthetic so you can talk to them during the procedure. I had no idea that radiographers were involved with this and again I was fascinated by it all. I think this kind of work may be something that I would be interested in doing in the future once qualified if the opportunity ever came about, although ultrasound is still top of the list. So cath lab was the real high of the week :-)
Later on in the week I got to see lots of barium studies and it was good to spend some time with the radiographer going over the anatomy of the digestive system and it's appearance on x-ray as part of a barium study. We also went over some of the pathologies you encounter such a polyps, diverticula and tumours etc and I actually learned a hell of a lot and quite liked looking at the images. Not so sure about the exam itself though. I'd been having a pretty bad day up until I went and observed the Barium studies so it was a bit of a relief.
My other days that week were spent in general x-ray where there were quite a lot of orthopaedic clinics running and as I was the only student there on those days it was good to get some quality mentoring and get to grips with some adapted technique. As I say, the week had it's ups and down and I did shed my fair share of tears but it all came good in the end I'm glad to say.
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