In the late summer of 2015, I needed a career change and wanted to do something that would be rewarding, meaningful, and challenging. In November 2015, I was invited for a trial and interview in the clinical imaging department at West Middlesex Hospital for an assistant administration role. I did not get the position, but I learned a lot from it as I worked a day filing the pending forms into the RMS system. I found it interesting that each scan had a different code. It was also good to find out that when checking the patient’s history, I have to check for the last time they were scanned as the hospital does not want to expose the patients to too much radiation in such a short time period. With this experience, I was able to see how the clinical imaging department of the hospital was run. Afterwards, at the West Middlesex Hospital, I was lucky to be invited back several times for shadowing days on the weekend from November 2015 to February 2016 and most recently in late September 2016.
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I would shadow the administration side and the ultrasound department. I really enjoyed shadowing the sonographer as it was exciting when there was an interesting case. He explained to me that with ultrasound scans, you focus on the texture, brightness to darkness, and the size of organs. The ultrasound machine also had different probes with different shaped heads for different intensity of waves. The convex probe was for seeing deeper tissues, while the small linear probe was for seeing underneath the skin. I observed how he reassured each patient by explaining each step through the scanning process. While shadowing, I spoke to nurses, sonographers and radiographers, it was nice to see that they all came from different backgrounds and ages. It encouraged me that I could still get back into education even if I am a mature student. I also did a one day shadow at the University College London Hospital in February 2016. I spent my time with radiographers in A&E, then observed CT scans, and finally followed a radiographer and a sonographer in the clinic. I found the radiographers in the A&E the most fascinating as they worked together as a team to scan patients. The radiographer in the clinic allowed me to move the Seaman X-ray machine around to have a feel of how it worked. He also explained that depending on the size of patients, you would use different plates to scan them. While shadowing the sonographer, I got to see him give a steroid injection to a patient’s knee for Arthritis. With these experiences I was becoming familiar with what the role of a radiographer and a sonographer would entail. I come from a big family with myself being the only daughter and second oldest so I have always been the responsible one. I developed interpersonal skills and the skills to manage my own time through working and going to school. When I worked for the National Trust at Osterley Park & House in 2013, I took on a leadership role where I gained experiences about how to take initiative, problem solving, working as a team, and managing. One of my current hobbies is going to the gym with a bit of weight training, which I know will be helpful later on as a radiographer
I would shadow the administration side and the ultrasound department. I really enjoyed shadowing the sonographer as it was exciting when there was an interesting case. He explained to me that with ultrasound scans, you focus on the texture, brightness to darkness, and the size of organs. The ultrasound machine also had different probes with different shaped heads for different intensity of waves. The convex probe was for seeing deeper tissues, while the small linear probe was for seeing underneath the skin. I observed how he reassured each patient by explaining each step through the scanning process. While shadowing, I spoke to nurses, sonographers and radiographers, it was nice to see that they all came from different backgrounds and ages. It encouraged me that I could still get back into education even if I am a mature student. I also did a one day shadow at the University College London Hospital in February 2016. I spent my time with radiographers in A&E, then observed CT scans, and finally followed a radiographer and a sonographer in the clinic. I found the radiographers in the A&E the most fascinating as they worked together as a team to scan patients. The radiographer in the clinic allowed me to move the Seaman X-ray machine around to have a feel of how it worked. He also explained that depending on the size of patients, you would use different plates to scan them. While shadowing the sonographer, I got to see him give a steroid injection to a patient’s knee for Arthritis. With these experiences I was becoming familiar with what the role of a radiographer and a sonographer would entail. I come from a big family with myself being the only daughter and second oldest so I have always been the responsible one. I developed interpersonal skills and the skills to manage my own time through working and going to school. When I worked for the National Trust at Osterley Park & House in 2013, I took on a leadership role where I gained experiences about how to take initiative, problem solving, working as a team, and managing. One of my current hobbies is going to the gym with a bit of weight training, which I know will be helpful later on as a radiographer