Quick Catch Up

Hi guys,

Again, sorry it's been a while. I've been so busy there has been little time to do anything really. Last time I posted I remember I was about to start writing up an assignment on reflective practise. Seems like such time ago now. I handed that in and got a good mark back from it so I was really pleased with that. Since then everything has been a bit mental really. I've had a block of placement, Easter hols a block at uni and now I'm about to do another block of placement again.

So I shall start at the beginning. Okay, so for my last block at placement I was back on the theatre rotation again and also had my clinical assessment on portables. I have been freaking out about this assessment since the start of the year since I always found it a bit intimidating going up onto the wards, or to recovery or A/E and all the other places you have to go when patients need portable chest x-rays and other portable exams. I got off to a bit of a shaky start since I wasn't prepared for it but once I got going and got an intense practice period under my belt I got the hang of it pretty quickly. I surprised myself actually and by the time I got to the end of it I didn't feel half as intimidated by it all as when I first started. Just goes to show where a bit of good practice can get you and my tutor was really pleased with what I did so it all came good in the end and was a nice way to finish off my placement.

I've also well and truly gotten over my issues with theatre and enjoy going down there now. It doesn't fill me with the dread it once did. With going there more often and getting more involve with the imaging during the procedures I'm getting to know how things/people work there now and have been getting help from all kinds which was wonderful. They obviously recognise that I've been struggling and I'm obviously a student learning so have been really patient and encouraging with me and generally trying to make me life a bit easier. Taking the time to explain things and so on which really makes all the difference. It really is the small things, but they certainly keep you going and help to build up your confidence. Obviously I have had one or two little mishaps but nothing major and I guess that's how we learn - by our mistakes.  I think theatre might actually now be one of my favourite parts of the job....surprise surprise!

So that was my last stint at placement. It was straight back to uni after that and it has been ridiculously intense. I'm not much of a multi-tasker when it comes to getting uni work (or anything) done really. I like to focus on one thing at a time and give it my full attention but that has just been impossible these past weeks. There have been assignments to hand in, exams of all kinds of variety and presentations to boot! Yuck! I'm amazed I got through it all and I'm actually proud of myself for facing so many of my demons this year and getting on with it rather than crumbling into a heap like I thought I might, and wanted to on several occasions! I passed the presentations which was fantastic, they really are my weakness and was expecting my lowest marks here but I surprised myself. Just got to wait for all the other results to come back which will probably be in the next week or two. One more exam/assessment to go and then I'm done with them (I hope)! Even though the results aren't back yet I feel quite happy with how I did with most of the exams. I put the work in and for the most part there were no surprises so I should be okay. I think I may have totally bombed out in one of them but we shall see. It totally wasn't what I was expecting and just my luck, all the things I looked at and thought might come up didn't....so when I saw what was there and didn't know any of it I panicked and all of my common sense abandoned me. I still feel a bit sick about it now when I think about it but whatever will be will be. It's done now and there is nothing I can do. I'm feeling happy otherwise though so it's just a waiting game now.

As I say I have one more assessment and another block of placement. For this next block I'm not at my base hospital much at all. I'm spending most of the time at different hospitals so we will see what that brings. I'll get to experience using different x-ray equipment most probably, and different ways of working. I also have a week of things like barium enemas, barium swallows, ERCPs, hysterosalpingograms. Basically different examinations where you look at the digestive, biliary and reproductive system. I mention these so that if anyone is reading this blog and thinking of studying radiography you realise that you will be doing a variety of things. You still use x-rays but with contrast agents and so on and it's just a bit different I guess to your usual ward, clinic and A/E stuff etc.

Anyway, I have the day off and plan to relax and enjoy it fully before the next tidal wave of stress and busyness hits me next week so I'm signing off for now. Hopefully with me being on placement it will me I'll be posting more regularly.