Happy Belated Christmas and New Year!

This is how my Christmas and New Year holiday generally looked. Except I had piles of textbooks around me...

Stardate: 91629.78

As the title says, despite their belatedness, Happy Christmas and New Year!

Well, it has been a while since I wrote an entry, but I am putting that down to three things:

• an incredibly evil essay my year had to write for the Learning Together, Working Together module (3,000 words of pain)
• part-time work (Boxing Day sales how I loathe thee!)
• and finally fatigue and anti-social tendencies

Yes, it's true, when an essay rolls around, I tend to either disappear into the ether until it's finished, or I pretend it doesn't exist and leave it until I have around three weeks left to complete it. I managed to hole myself up in my living room with piles of textbooks and handwritten notes surrounding me, with a vast quantity of tabs in Chrome detailing journal articles open on my laptop. But, it is done and I can breathe once more. Well, this is me we're talking about, so probably not. As I'm writing this I've got a textbook on 'Comprehensive Radiographic Pathology' open next to me, with post-it notes stuck everywhere. Hey-ho.

So, how do I summarise my first semester with the University of Leeds? Overall, it was highly enjoyable and eye-opening, and I'm looking forward to some new course material to return to. I survived my first three week placement block (just about), and I feel like I learnt a great deal. I applied to be a student rep alongside another student, so the pair of us will try our best to get our cohort's concerns and thoughts heard. What else... oh yes, I definitely decided I want to become a Forensic Radiographer. We all know how I like a good challenge (or that mind-numbing boredom sets in), and I believe this will be the perfect one for me.

We received a whole year rota for our clinical placement blocks (well, the students at my placement did anyway), and I have a nice mix coming up. For my two-week January placement (on my birthday! Woe is me!) I'll be in Mobiles & Theatre in week one (hopefully I won't faint this time), and general X-ray for week two, so that'll be a nice opportunity to get the clinical experience portfolio filled in. Roll on early morning starts, cafeteria food and waiting for ages in the cold for a bus.

Semester 2 technically starts again on Monday, but it's our assessment week, and as we only had that one essay from Hell, we're hoping for an extra week off. So our real semester starts the week of my birthday, from January 20th. Which begins with two weeks of placement.

Hopefully this semester is even better than the first.

The game is on! (LLAP)

References

1. Festive Sherlock, n.d. photograph, viewed 9 January 2014 <http://31.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mde23g8rXR1rnw4hro1_500.png>.

First Placement Week 101

When you've been sat around for a good hour with no request cards, this is your face when a patient appears.

Stardate: 91484.54

Well, first off, my placement's okay. It's a little boring at times (probably because nobody knows where anything is except the hospitals, chip shop and the Sainsbury's Local) but everyone staying there has become part of the 'Family' (and we've all just been watching 'I'm a Celebrity' together after coming back from our homes). I'm even making an effort at socialising like a normal person, you'll be pleased to know. Completely out of character for a geeky recluse like myself, I know! 

Our rooms are a little basic, and we can only use the internet for e-mail and studying (hahahaha)... even though I was sneaky and watched 'Dexter' on Netflix... because otherwise I'd have died of boredom. I'm missing vegetables, so made sure I'd eaten a load this weekend before coming back. The previous week I was surviving on cheap ready meals and noodles, as after placement no-one can be bothered to cook anything real (I mean come on, we're students).

So, what was I doing for my first week? Well, I spent a week in general x-ray... Yes, it can be a little slow, especially in the early morning, when there are no request cards coming through. You find yourself cleaning cassettes, surfaces, your hands, actually reading your textbooks and reading through the hospital policies to fill your time. But just around half nine, requests came flooding in, and the range I got to see was brilliant. Hands, feet, chests, spines, abdomens... everything, really! You see so many examinations, that you begin to memorise the routine and technique. That's when I felt that I wanted to get stuck in and have a go myself.

The hospital I'm based at is really nice and a good environment to be in. The radiographers teach us so much, and love showing us everything and let us have a go while they explain stuff, though one has a penchant for appearing out of nowhere and quizzing us suddenly. Patients are all really nice too when they find out you're a student, but you need to be confident, or they're less than enthusiastic. Some say "keep t'up, love, and you'll be 'reet" (as some people of the North tend to sound like, of course!)

I've done my first two formal x-ray examinations (not just practice ones): both hands at once, then the two thumbs (5 x-rays for one patient), and then two thumb x-rays (for one patient). My supervising radiographer was really pleased and told me to put them in my portfolio straight away. So I'm learning loads really quickly. I'm also now my year group's student rep, so I'm getting loads done involvement-wise, too. I have to go to meetings etc. Some may think I'm biting off more than I can chew... but I do enjoy a good challenge.

The only advice I can give about your first week of placement? Go prepared. Go through some basic positioning techniques, practice talking to patients, be ready to just get involved. Radiographers don't have the time for students who can't be bothered. Make them want to help you!

I'd better get off to bed, I'm in A&E this week, and I'm pretty sure I'll be needing all the sleep I can get!

LLAP and Allons-y!

Happy World Radiography Day!

Source: http://www.sor.org/about-radiography/world-radiography-day

Stardate: 91459.52

Firstly, as you may have gathered from the above picture, today is World Radiography Day. Today marks the anniversary of the discovery of x-radiation by Wilhelm Röntgen in 1895 `. The day is basically to help promote radiography as a career and to increase public awareness. It's also of course for radiographers to show how proud they are of their profession!

Because it was World Radiography Day, I decided it would be the opportune moment to ask one of our lecturers (who also works as a Forensic Radiographer) how you would go about getting into Forensic Radiography post-registration. Unfortunately, not many places allow it to be chosen as an elective, so I would need to start asking around and finding out about it now, in order to get as much information on it as possible. Membership to the IAFR (International Association of Forensic Radiographers apparently costs a bit now, and there aren't too many people to ask, but luckily I have my lecturer and one of the radiographers on placement who is also a Forensic Radiographer too.

As long as I can pick their brains and gain some hints and things to check out, I'll be okay. According to my lecturer, if you put brie, pork and liver in a box somewhere warm, leave it for a fortnight, then open it up, once you've stopped throwing up, you'll then know whether you want to be a Forensic Radiographer or not. But, despite that, the work is interesting and fun. I still like to think it is for me, even if that does sound unpleasant!

Aside from that, spread the love for Radiography! All of it thanks to Wilhelm Röntgen.

Two days until I move to my placement site...

LLAP!

References

1. Society of Radiographers, 2013, photograph, viewed 8 November 2013 <http://www.sor.org/sites/default/files/images/wrd_2013_logo_web.jpg>

A Day in General X-Ray

We've not even been on a full week of clinical placement yet, and this has become so true!

Stardate: 91457.12

Another week down, and I've had another clinical placement visit! Not only that, but as of Sunday, I'll be living away from Leeds for 3 weeks while the first full placement period comes up. Nervous, moi?

This time, I was on the rota for General X-Ray, which of course can only mean chest x-rays galore! Despite being under the impression X-Ray departments tend to be very busy, the morning was quite slow, and was definitely all chest x-rays, so you get used to positioning for them really fast. Everyone's body is different, but the technique very rarely strays from the norm.

I also witnessed a good variation of hands, knees, and spinal x-rays, but this was all mixed in with lots of standing around and looking completely clueless while the qualified radiographers chatted between one another and assessed each others images.

The two most exciting occurrences of the day turned out to be a doctor with a piece of wine glass left over in his finger, and a police-accompanied patient. Apparently, it's all in a day's work! To keep myself busy on the other hand, a classmate and I tried to ask as many questions to the radiographers as possible. This varied from "What does this abbreviation mean?" "Why have you increased the kV?" "What are these marks/spots/dots on the image here?" "Do you want me to process the cassette?" to "Do you need me to clean anything?" Basically, anything to prevent myself from standing around.

I've noticed that if you observe enough examinations, you quickly learn the standard kV and mAs (exposure) levels. Our clinical tutor's advice to us was to carry around a little pocket notebook, to keep on hand what we'd learnt that day that would relate to anything we'd need later on. Stupidly, I forgot mine, but I do remember that a standard average male chest x-ray exposure is 60kV at 10mAs, but a female's is 60kV at 8mAs (don't worry, it will possibly make sense one day), and I also remembered that SUFE stands for Slipped Upper Femoral Epiphysis. Not bad, I suppose!

Anyway, I did enjoy my second day, though it didn't exactly live up to my fainting first day! I can't wait to get to the full placement blocks, but I'm definitely worried about moving into another new home! I'm sure I'll manage, and hopefully finding my way to the satellite sites at some point will be smooth and not too difficult and frightening!

Also, the image above happens to be my own design... I'm quite proud of it did you know (despite it not being amazing)

LLAP!

My First Clinical Placement Visit... The Walkthrough!

Definitely how you feel when you finally get out on placement and do something useful!

Stardate: 91438.12

Evening everyone! As you all know today was my first clinical placement visit. After a mad dash to the train (after the ticket collection machine crashed on me) I collapsed on the train's floor, knackered already from waking up at 5.45. The rest of the morning's travel schedule went as planned, and we got to the hospital at least 20 minutes early, which is always a good start. My friend and I were down on the rota to be in mobiles and theatre, and at first we were at little nervous as it was our first day, but really I had an amazing day.

I started off by watching a general chest x-ray, as no surgeries were scheduled until later, but then one of the radiographers came to take a student down to the theatre room, and typical me, I was straight in to volunteer! So I walked down to theatre, and was shown where to get scrubs (I picked blues naturally, I'm not sure I'd have worked/liked the pink ones) and got changed into them. Important fact: scrubs are incredibly comfy, you won't want to change out of them! At first, I put the trousers over my uniform ones (like an idiot), but I was soon set straight! Hair nets were next (these I do not like), and finally the surgical masks. I was given two lead rubber aprons: a skirt and a top, and honestly they are so much heavier than they look!

Once that was all sorted, I was shown how to use the C-Arm and what radiographers working in orthopaedic theatres have to do. I watched some fluoroscopy procedures and I began to watch a bone graft from hip to ankle, but unfortunately, I fainted. 

No, I wasn't grossed out, I didn't feel sick, and I was sufficiently hydrated and fed... I was just too hot. This was the result of having to wear two lead rubber aprons, the lack of a cooling system and the claustrophobic like feelings induced from wearing all this as well as a surgical mask. So I had somehow managed to completely overheat and fainted. I was even considerate enough to go into a corner of the room first, so as to be out of the way! As I hadn't hit my head,  I only needed to be taken to recovery to my 'stats' checked. My BP was fine, but my temperature was shockingly high until I had a drink and cooled down. In the end I retrieved my surgical clogs and made my way back to general x-ray to have lunch. I was pretty eager to go back, but just to be safe, my tutor decided it'd be better if I worked on mobiles for a while.

I watched one mobile case, a patient that had just come out of surgery and was a little too groggy from anaesthesia, and then I was shown how to take a lateral chest x-ray. My clinical day ended with me watching a ureteroscopy over in Urology. And this time, I didn't faint!

Overall, I really enjoyed my time on this placement. Everyone was really willing and ready to tell you everything about anything, and I saw a lot more than I expected to see on my first day.

I can't wait for next Thursday now!

LLAP

References

1. Eleventh Doctor 'Who Da Man!', n.d. gif, viewed 31 October 2013,<http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/ee517/bubblemaddie/random/tumblr_lq97tjzqCA1qbj6cco1_500.gif>.

The End of the Beginning!

I have broken one of my own "rules" and instigated a photo being taken... of myself!

Stardate: 91429.8

I'm now onto Week 5 of my course, and on Thursday (yes, Halloween) I will be off out on my first day of clinical placement (it's only for one day, but the big 3 week placement is looming closer!) Am I nervous? Maybe... okay, yes. (Mainly because as I've said before, us newbies pretty much know absolutely nothing!

Yes, we've had some basic clinical skills drilled in, such as Moving & Handling, Basic Life Support, and Basic Positioning and Patient Care Techniques, but I am wondering which of my fellow students have actually managed to retain all this well enough to not blank on the first day!

Our comfortable start of semester lectures are starting to get more complex (but not difficult, just more interesting... apparently we cannae change the laws of physics), everyone's starting to tire out faster, books are starting to be loaned from the libraries (not that I hadn't started that as soon as I got to Leeds, mind) and we're all (I'm sure) getting nervous for our first real placement. 

For my first "introductory" day on placement, I'll be working on Mobiles and Theatre. Fitting for All Hallows' Eve, one believes. Here's hoping it isn't too... horrifying! 

(Dammit Jim, I'm a student radiographer, not a comedian!)

Professional Practice Assessment and Markers!

So, how on earth am I supposed to customise these?!

Stardate: 91380.69

Today in our Professional Practice (Clinical Skills) class, we were informed on how the module was going to be assessed. Personally, it sounded incredibly overwhelming, but once I get into the swing of clinical I'm sure I'll get the hang of the assessment process.

Basically, the way we'll be assessed for our clinical practice is like so:

• Clinical Placement Assessment
  - weekly monitoring forms
  - observed assessment of practice
  - unassisted examinations with a final unassisted examination in 5 areas: upper limb, lower limb, chest, spine and abdomen/pelvis
• and Portfolio Assessment
  - record of clinical experience
  - evidence of clinical practice
  - ALPS forms
  - 1 case study- training certificates

On paper it looks simple (well, it doesn't when you go through the whole handbook), but it gets confusing quickly!

After this had been explained as simply as possible, we then went through the first rite of passage as student radiographers: receiving our radiographic markers!

Ours look a lot like the picture above, and we've been told that in order to not lose them, we need to personalise them somehow. Looking at mine, I have no idea how this will be achieved... maybe I'll draw a Starfleet symbol on them.... or maybe engrave my name in Circular Gallifreyan. Who knows? As long as people know they're my markers, it'll be fine. I'll just make mine as geeky as is possible. 

It's amazing how two thin strips of metal can make one person so proud of themselves... and so ready to start practising some x-ray examinations! 

LLAP guys!