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>.