Welcome to A Couple of Rad Techs Podcast!
So, let’s dive into the world of radiologic technology and the not-so-glamorous surprises that come with it! A whopping 50% of us students say we weren’t ready for the clinical side of things, and I’m boldly raising my hand to make that 51%. You think you’re just going to be pressing buttons and taking pictures? Oh boy, was I in for a rude awakening! From the chaos of my first portable X-ray to the unexpected “oops” moments, like pulling out the drainage tube (yikes!), it’s safe to say that reality hit me like a ton of bricks. Join me as I share the wild ride of clinical rotations, the challenges of handling real patients, and the high-pressure situations that no textbook could ever prepare us for. Buckle up, folks, because it’s going to be a fun and eye-opening journey!
Radiologic technology school can be a wild ride, and our host, Chandria, is here to spill the tea on what it’s really like! With her trademark friendly vibe, she dives into her personal experience of navigating the often overwhelming clinical component of her training. It’s a journey filled with unexpected surprises, from the chaotic rush of her first day to the eye-opening realization that working in radiology is far more than just pressing buttons! Chandria’s relatable stories will have you both laughing and nodding in agreement as she recounts her most memorable (and messy) moments.
As she shares her journey, Chaundria breaks down three key areas that caught her off guard during her clinicals: the reality of patient care, the challenges of moving real patients, and the high-pressure situations that arise unexpectedly. Each moment is filled with humor but also serves as a reality check for anyone considering a career in radiologic technology. She vividly describes her first encounter with a portable chest X-ray and how she quickly learned that clinicals are a whole different ballgame compared to the cozy confines of the classroom.
Throughout the episode, Chaundria emphasizes the importance of adaptability and the value of teamwork in the hectic world of healthcare. She encourages aspiring technologists to embrace the chaos and to remember that everyone starts somewhere—even if it means getting a little messy along the way. By the time the episode wraps up, you’ll be armed with not just a sense of humor about the challenges ahead, but also practical advice that will help you thrive in your own radiologic journey. So whether you’re a seasoned pro or just dipping your toes into the field, this episode is sure to resonate with anyone who’s ever faced the unpredictable nature of healthcare!
Takeaways:
- Radiology technology school is way tougher than most students expect, especially in clinical settings!
- Many students, including myself, feel unprepared for real-life patient situations during clinical rotations.
- Getting hands-on experience in clinicals is crucial because textbook knowledge doesn’t cut it in the real world.
- The pressures and chaos of the clinical environment can be overwhelming, but staying calm is essential for success.
radiology school, radiology technology, clinical preparation, portable X-ray, patient positioning, radiology students, medical challenges, radiologic technologist, clinical rotation, healthcare education, patient care, cold blue situations, radiology training, X-ray techniques, medical emergencies, student experiences, diagnostic imaging, radiology career tips, healthcare professions, radiology tips
Transcript
I was not prepared for this in radiology technology school.
Speaker A:That particular time when I went to do a simple portable chest X ray on a patient that was recovering, I simply pulled down the stretcher, arm rest and missed.
Speaker A:And pulled the tubing out of the drainage tube.
Speaker A:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker A:I was covered in red fluids.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Shoes, pants, everything.
Speaker A:It was covered.
Speaker A:A hot mess.
Speaker A:Let me just get into it.
Speaker A:Did you know that 50% of radiology technology students say they were not prepared for the clinical part of school?
Speaker A:And I'm gonna just say 51, because when I walked into my first clinical rotation, I honestly was not ready for what was about to happen.
Speaker A:Tell me if I am alone, y'all.
Speaker A:I was just like, is this what we doing?
Speaker A:I thought we were just doing this, pressing buttons.
Speaker A:It is so much more than pressing buttons.
Speaker A:And by the way, if you're new here, I'm Chandria, a radiologic technologist with multiple certifications in the radiology field, like MRI and CT and a few host of other things in the field.
Speaker A:The radiology school interview did not prepare me for what I walked into.
Speaker A:Now, you guys have social media and other things like that that kind of give you a glimpse, and I just say a glimpse because it's not really the real thing, but it gives you a glimpse of.
Speaker A:Of what to expect for radiology school.
Speaker A:But I'm sure you're just as shocked as I was when you come into the program.
Speaker A:I really thought I was ready.
Speaker A:You know, I practiced positioning in the lab with the instructors and my classmates.
Speaker A:I was so prepared and ready.
Speaker A:None of that stuff prepared me for my first portable X ray in the recovery department, in the er, my first day in the operating room, my first barium enema with air.
Speaker A:No one warned me about this part of radiology school, you guys.
Speaker A:And if you're thinking of joining a few, you need to stay here and you need to hear the rest of this.
Speaker A:So here's the reality of radiology technology school.
Speaker A:When I walked into clinicals thinking I was it was going to be smooth sailing.
Speaker A:I mean, how hard could it be pressing buttons and just laying someone on the table and taking a picture like we do in class.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:It's just as easy as that.
Speaker A:No, it's not.
Speaker A:Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Speaker A:Three things I was not prepared for.
Speaker A:Number one, the reality of clinicals being thrown right into the real medical situations way faster than I expected.
Speaker A:I'm gonna tell you.
Speaker A:My first day, I had my markers, I had my white lab coat that we had for clinicals, I had my Nice little freshly pressed scrubs, my brand new expensive shoes.
Speaker A:I was ready to go, y'all, and I was gonna observe.
Speaker A:That was my intention when I first got in.
Speaker A:Just my first week, my first day.
Speaker A:Let me observe.
Speaker A:No, honey.
Speaker A:She was like, come on, honey, bring those markers with you.
Speaker A:I had to bring the markers with me.
Speaker A:I wasn't planning on using my markers.
Speaker A:They was in my pocket, and that's where they're going to stay, at least for the first few days.
Speaker A:But no, ma'am, she said, you're going to bring.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:She showed me how to get.
Speaker A:Get on over here.
Speaker A:Chandria, put your hands on the patient.
Speaker A:I mean, everything.
Speaker A:Help me lift.
Speaker A:Move.
Speaker A:It was the reality was kicking in quick, fast and in a hurry, y'all.
Speaker A:Patient challenges number two, moving and positioning real people is nothing like moving and positioning your classmates.
Speaker A:Positioning challenges, especially those neonates.
Speaker A:Who knew those little babies could fight so hard?
Speaker A:Pediatrics was a whole nother beast.
Speaker A:Number three, the high pressure moments.
Speaker A:Doctors in the or talking through America.
Speaker A:You ever try to listen to something and they talk that low with a mask on?
Speaker A:Everybody's in because you're in a area where everybody got to cover up.
Speaker A:Hair, face, everything.
Speaker A:Only thing showing is your eyes.
Speaker A:That's all.
Speaker A:And you got to hear the doctor tell you, press this, press that.
Speaker A:No, lateral this.
Speaker A:I can't hear over all the noise.
Speaker A:Then he got the music blasting, or she got the music blasted.
Speaker A:Oh, my good.
Speaker A:And I'm clueless.
Speaker A:I don't know what you mean.
Speaker A:Forward or backward, anterior, post, anterior, posterior to what?
Speaker A:I was just overwhelmed.
Speaker A:And that first initial time did not get any better.
Speaker A:It got better over time, but initially, no.
Speaker A:So the first time I was in the recovery department and had to do a chest portable X ray.
Speaker A:My teachers, clinical instructors, they were like, no, you.
Speaker A:You already practiced in class.
Speaker A:Here you go.
Speaker A:Bring your markers out.
Speaker A:Lift the patient up.
Speaker A:They would help me move the patient.
Speaker A:Of course, they weren't like that, but you were pretty much on your own.
Speaker A:They were going to let you figure out the angula angulation of the patients, yourself, the two, bro.
Speaker A:They were gonna let you figure it all out.
Speaker A:The distance, everything.
Speaker A:Unless you are really, really stuck.
Speaker A:But they were like, you're gonna work this out because you may be by yourself, which I greatly appreciate now, but at the time, no.
Speaker A:Especially in those high stressful situations, people are just coming out of recovery.
Speaker A:You don't want to hurt anybody.
Speaker A:They are in pain.
Speaker A:And then I gotta move you and put this cold, hard board behind you.
Speaker A:I screwed it up before then.
Speaker A:I let the handle down, the safety handle down on a stretcher.
Speaker A:Didn't check for any tubing, Nothing.
Speaker A:My new little student self just chook.
Speaker A:And when I did that, the tubing came right out of the drain.
Speaker A:Not out of the patient, out of the drainage thing.
Speaker A:Well, I was standing right next to it.
Speaker A:The senior tech was on the other side.
Speaker A:So they were clean afterwards.
Speaker A:I was not.
Speaker A:All of that stuff draining out of the abdomen and chest into the chest tube container got all over me.
Speaker A:All over me.
Speaker A:Yeah, my legs from the ankles on down.
Speaker A:Pants covered.
Speaker A:Shoes, socks.
Speaker A:Child had to throw those shoes out and they were so expensive.
Speaker A:Lesson learned, Lesson learned.
Speaker A:Always look before you pull down handles.
Speaker A:But the most intense moments of my radiology training was those cold blues.
Speaker A:In radiology, people don't think we get cold blues and they think we just have to stand there and wait on the team to come.
Speaker A:No, we are in the thick of things as well, because those are our patients.
Speaker A:And we have to make sure that until the cold team gets there, the patient is cared for.
Speaker A:So my first cold blue, y'all.
Speaker A:I'm not even gonna tell you a story.
Speaker A:I was confused.
Speaker A:It's all over the place.
Speaker A:And I didn't have a part in it per se, physically, but they gave me tasks to do and I was like, what do I do?
Speaker A:Where do I go?
Speaker A:It was so much going on.
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:Have y'all ever been in a cold blue?
Speaker A:Now it's like I'm real chill now in them.
Speaker A:But in the beginning, as a radiology student, you are not expecting people to code for their X ray.
Speaker A:But when I tell you, people come to our department with all type of things going on, and we have to be prepared for cold blues to happen.
Speaker A:We used to inject iodine based contrast to people.
Speaker A:People had contrast reactions.
Speaker A:Cold blues happen.
Speaker A:Some people are already going through issues with breathing and we're having to.
Speaker A:And they coat or they come out of recovery.
Speaker A:Cold blues stress me out still.
Speaker A:But oh, my goodness, it is so stressing.
Speaker A:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker A:Nobody prepared me for.
Speaker A:I know we study in class what cold blues are, but I'm sorry, it's different when you're in it, y'all.
Speaker A:Lessons learned and advice for radiology students.
Speaker A:Key takeaways.
Speaker A:Even though you're not ready, nothing can prepare you.
Speaker A:Just be adaptable, be willing to learn, and you'll make it through just fine, and you'll be a better technologist for it.
Speaker A:I actually love the way the radiology program is Structured because not only do you have didactic and classroom work, but we have almost 2,000 plus some close to 3,000 clinical hours that you must complete.
Speaker A:And there's nothing like going beyond the textbook.
Speaker A:Textbook smart does not make technically smart.
Speaker A:And the two together just is amazing.
Speaker A:And I feel as radiology technologists we have both.
Speaker A:Not knocking anyone else, but I'm just saying I'm speaking for radiology.
Speaker A:That makes us like chef's kiss.
Speaker A:Creme de la creme.
Speaker A:So some key takeaways from this video.
Speaker A:I hope it was entertaining but very eye opening for you.
Speaker A:But just be ready for the pressure when you're going to school for radiology, this is not what people try to make fun of us and call us button pushers.
Speaker A:Even if you don't have a specialty and your specialty is diagnostic radiology, you are not just a button pusher.
Speaker A:I mean, I'm need y'all to understand this diagnostic X ray is not for the week and it is not super easy.
Speaker A:It's a lot of things.
Speaker A:You have to employ mathematics and other things in order to operate extra equipment.
Speaker A:So let's just be real on that.
Speaker A:Number two, ask for help.
Speaker A:There is no shame in asking for help.
Speaker A:I 20 years plus still ask for help if I don't know, hey, do you know how to do this?
Speaker A:Or do you know how to make this better?
Speaker A:Or what's the easier way to do this?
Speaker A:Or I like the way you did that.
Speaker A:Can you help me do that?
Speaker A:Stay calm.
Speaker A:Even in chaos, that's number three key takeaway.
Speaker A:Stay calm.
Speaker A:It's going to be chaos.
Speaker A:There are going to be things that happen in radiology.
Speaker A:You just gotta pull it back together and get what you need to get done so that patient can get what they need to get.
Speaker A:Patients lives do depend on us, y'all.
Speaker A:So if you're thinking about going into radiology, just know you will have these oh my goodness moments too much.
Speaker A:You're gonna have those moments.
Speaker A:It's okay.
Speaker A:If you're a radiologic technology student or thinking about becoming one, tell me, what are you most worried about?
Speaker A:Or if you've been through the program already, what caught you off guard in radiologic technology school?
Speaker A:And if you like this video, check out my other videos on radiology school career tips and how much money we make.
Speaker A:Trust me, you'll need all the tips you can get.