Does reality ever measure up with expectations? We see something and want to buy it hoping it will make us happy. We think if I only had that car or that job then I will have truly arrived. The truth is the happiness and growth comes during the pursuit of what we seek, not in attaining it.  When I was in X-ray school, I wanted a job in CT ...

Last weekend the veteran technologist I usually work with was away at a conference. I had no idea who I’d be working with and this left me feeling a little uneasy. It turned out that Saturday I worked with a woman I am very familiar with and truly enjoy and Sunday with a woman I rarely encounter. I was very proud of how I handled myself throughout ...

This week I finally had the opportunity to do a brain perfusion CT. One of our senior technologists was available to show me what to do. She is an excellent teacher, so the whole experience wasn’t as bad as I had initially anticipated. The post-processing isn’t too tough; just very tedious and unlike any other post-processing I do. The perfusion ...

It’s not every day that I get to be on the other side of the X-ray table or scanner. This week, I went for a mammogram and got to do just that. I was going to tell the technologist what I do for a living but decided not to. She was nice, but she did not make me feel at ease when I entered the room. She didn’t do several things that I try to always ...

While working the weekends affords me a great deal of time off, it unfortunately has a new drawback that I recently became aware of. When new protocols are added like the new brain perfusion scan, an educational in-service was scheduled to review every aspect of this complicated procedure. Of course, it took place during the week only once, and at ...

Each shift, I work with a senior technologist who is in charge of all that takes place. I appreciate the leadership. but often from shift to shift I am told to do things differently. This has made the learning process difficult and slower for me because you can't exactly tell your superior “No, I want to do it this way.” As I'm becoming ...

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 had a great weekend back at work. Everyone was very happy to see me and even people in other departments stopped by to welcome me back. This felt great! It really is true that a vacation can make all the difference when you are stressed out from work. I thought I'd have a tough time readjusting to my schedule after being on vacation, but this ...

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 ...

Life in general can be stressful enough, so what do you do when you have an exam like the registry to take that is of utmost importance? This may be a good time to employ some old or new stress management techniques. I find that daily exercise, meditation, a healthy diet and good nights of sleep are four key elements to practice during this ...