The tough job market continues to affect me. I got hired at the VA as a fee-based CT technologist on a part time basis. I was told that I would work 5 days a week every other week until the two full-time open positions were filled. This was supposed to take me at least into the fall of this year. In an unprecedented turn of events, the usually ...

After going on an interview in mid December of last year, I was just given my start date at the VA of mid March. I guess it’s better late than never.  I was initially supposed to begin orientation today but some unfinished paperwork held things up.  I have seen first hand that getting a government job takes quite a bit longer than a ...

The world news often displays images of people living in countries with less than desirable conditions. This can include sub-par medical care. A diagnostic Radiologist and his wife visit Kenya as often as possible to help change this. Dr. Read Vaughan ''...taught ultrasound and computerized tomography scan techniques to between 30 and 35 medical ...

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 ...

This past weekend, I had one of those “ah-ha moments.” This was a moment when some of what I’ve learned about doing a CTA chest exam for pulmonary embolism (PE) was applied to doing a CTA chest for aortic dissection. I have mastered a chest to rule out PE, but we just got new protocol for ruling out dissection, and I had not even mastered the old ...

Working all of my hours on the weekends leaves me a good deal of time to have fun and get numerous things done during the week. I especially love this because there are less people to contend with, and most places and stores are much less crowded. Also, I can spend more time with my best friend, who just had a baby and is just back at work part ...

Recently the number of infants and children I’m scanning seems to be increasing. This population presents many challenges for me and my co-workers. How do you get an infant to stop crying and hold still long enough to get a diagnostic study? How do you deal with the scared parent(s)? Also, is a CT scan really the best option for a child due to the ...

Happy Inauguration Day! What a momentous and exciting day for our country. The beauty of today was emphasized for me as I was working at a veteran's hospital. I greatly enjoy working with this patient population-I have never met such a grateful and helpful group of people. They never complain about anything, are eager to assist in their exams ...