A Day in the Life of a Medical Radiology Technologist in a Hospital
In my hospital I can be scheduled to work one of the following four shifts:
7:30am to 3:30pm, 9:00am to 5pm, 3:30pm to 11:30pm or 11:30pm to 7:30am.
Today I am scheduled for the evening shift which begins at 3:30pm.
3:10pm
I arrive at the hospital and go to the locker room to change into my
uniform and check into my work area by 3:20pm.
3:20pm
First I get an update from the day shift technologist on the current
state of the inpatient and emergency room workflow and I take over
their pagers.
Today there are four inpatients who are on their way to X-ray, and
two emergency room patients who need exams.
Next, I find my fellow evening colleague and decide how we will
complete the cases. This debriefing usually takes 5 to10 minutes.
3:30pm
Because the inpatients haven’t arrived, I call the emergency room
and ask them to bring me the two patients who require x-rays, so I
can use my time efficiently.
4:30pm
My colleague and I have finished the four inpatients and the two ER
patients. The operating room rings my pager to let me know that
they have an intramedullary (IM) nail booked for 5:00pm.
4:40pm
I clean up my room and go to the OR to get ready for IM nail case.
I put on an OR hat and boots and cover the C-arm with plastic to
help keep it clean during the case.
5:00pm
I take the C-arm into the OR at 5:00pm and set up for the case.
However, the patient isn’t ready yet.
My pager rings for an urgent (STAT) chest X-ray on one of the
inpatient floors.
5:10pm
Since the OR patient isn’t going to be ready for a while, I go and
take the STAT chest.
I return to the Emergency room to take an ankle X-ray.
At 6 pm the OR lets me know they are ready to start the IM nail
case.
6:00pm
I give my ER pager to my partner, who will now be responsible for
ER patients as well as any urgent inpatient cases.
We discuss relief for breaks, and decide that once she has taken
her break she will contact me to get an update.
I go to the OR.
6:00pm – 8:00pm
I operate the fluoroscopy unit for the surgeons, send the acquired
images to PACS and clean the C-arm.
Now that the case is finished, I need to find my colleague and
arrange our breaks.
8:05pm
I arrive in the emergency room, and there are no patients waiting.
My colleague is not there so I page her.
8:10pm
She calls me back to say she has had no patients for the last 45
minutes, and has been able to take her break. We decide I will go
for my break too and I will return to the department at 9:00pm.
9:00pm
My colleague is once again busy with cases, and she asks me to go
and do a STAT portable in the resuscitation room.
I take one of the two pagers, and while I am there I’m paged to do a
post-op portable femur in the recovery room.
9:15pm
I go to the recovery room and take the femur X-rays for the patient. I
receive some help lifting and turning the patient from the bedside
Registered nurse.
By 9:45pm I have processed my work and sent my images to
PACS.
9:45pm
I return to the department and over the next 2 hours we complete
portable chests, extremity X-rays and a variety of inpatient exams.
11:15pm
The 11:30pm to 7:30am technologist arrives and we explain that
today there is nothing pending. However, if there are cases pending
one of us will stay behind to help the night technologist get caught
up.
During my shift, I have evaluated all images for diagnostic
interpretation and obtained additional images if required. I made
sure all demographic information on the image is accurate and that
the image is annotated with correct markers.
11:30pm
I go and change into my street clothes in the locker room and by
11:45pm I am on my way home.