It is a well known fact in the radiology community that the amount of radiation from a CT is much higher than that of a traditional x-ray. Doctors working in emergency rooms order numerous CT scans each day hoping to diagnose, save lives, and avoid law suits. Working in CT in a busy ER there is never a shortage of patients who have orders for ...

When I graduated from x-ray school I was eager to take a job where I could work with students. I am a teacher at heart and fresh off the student wagon I hoped I could make a difference in someone’s education like so many folks had done for me. For this past year and five months this hasn’t been possible because of my schedule. Most students rotate ...

I feel like I just got out of school and now it’s time to start studying for another registry. As if the first one wasn’t anxiety-provoking enough, here I go again. I love school but hate taking the so-called standardized test. I received a letter from the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) stating I’m eligible to take the CT ...

One dilemma I occasionally face is having to scan a patient who has killed someone. We often get motor vehicle accident traumas brought in after a fatality, and the patient we are scanning is the cause of the accident. I had one such case last weekend, where a man was driving drunk with his wife and son in the car. The wife was pretty banged up ...

I got a comment on my Facebook page from a guy who I went to X-ray school with; it really made me stop and think. He got a job working Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the OR and on portables. He told me he encountered some nice students who would be rotating through CT soon and told me to teach them a thing or two.He seems to ...

Not only am I enjoying my new career more and more each week but I am so grateful to have all of the benefits that come with a full time position. My benefits recently kicked in and I am saving a good deal of money each month on prescriptions and doctor's visits.One thing I haven't had since 1997 is paid time off. I took my first weekend off this ...

I recently had the pleasure of taking care of and scanning my first legally blind patient. Having worked with special needs children in previous jobs I had no reservations about treating this patient. Most patients are usually in pain and scared to have their first CT so you can imagine how nervous she must have been not being able to see the ...

There are so many differences being a student and actually working now as an employee in a Level 1 Trauma Center ER. The pace of the work varies greatly from shift to shift. This past Friday it was the busiest shift I've ever worked and I thought this would be a predictor of how the rest of the weekend would go. It turned out to be the slowest ...

One month and counting! It is almost graduation day, and time sure is flying. I am truly loving CT and am learning more than my fair share each day. I have never seen so many people suffer from a ground level fall (GLF). We saw a guy recently who actually broke his neck from a GLF. It doesn't seem possible, but then again I guess anything is ...

I had a great week! I did well on my first cumulative science comp and am managing to study a few hours each day for the registry. This is easing my discomfort about taking the test quite a bit. I have had a few ''ah ha!'' moments where things all sort of seemed to come together and make sense. This was, of course, fleeting, but at least it ...