Well the last day of clinicals has finally arrived. I was feeling kind of bittersweet when I went in that morning, I was glad that it was the last day but I knew I was going to miss all of the techs. I had come to feel like I was part of their team and I knew I was going to miss being with them.
The day was pretty uneventful untill we had a patient that came in with Parkinsons disease. We had to do a lumbar on him and he was having a hard time holding still and walking to the MR room. We got him in the MR scanner and started the exam and every image we took was full of motion. We changed the sequences and trid to shorten them as much as possible, but we figured we would have to reschedule with sedation. Finally we noticed he had fell asleep and we were able to finish the exam and repeat the sequences with motion on them. He was thrilled to know we got good images when he woke up since he was really worried at the beginning. I was able to scan another ankle which I needed and also a hip, but other then that the day was pretty average. However about 2:00 that afternoon the director of the the facility came up to me and was apologising for not having a going away party but informed me that she was wanting to hire me for a PRN position. I was so excited and happy and now I will be able to finish my MR exams and hopefully will be able to sit for the boards by the end of the year. This is what I was hoping for since I started my clinicals and I was thrilled.
Well this semester has been a good one for me and I feel like I have learned alot, although I know I still have alot more to learn and work on, I am starting to feel like a real MR tech and am getting alot more comfortable scanning on my own. I hope everyones semester went well and I wish all of you the best of luck in your careers and with your future classes.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Three More Weeks To Go........
Well I skipped clinicals last week and went to a Mammography class. The class was an eight hour a day week long class. I really enjoyed the class especially the class on MR of the breast since that is what I am focusing on. I had seen a few breast MR's in clinic but did not really understand the whole scope of things. I learned through the class that they are the most detailed modality for the breast however they show alot of false positives and therefore alot of unneeded biopseys are done. Therefore a person should always have there mammo done along with CAD if possible and if needed an Ultrasound should be done before MRI. However it is a wonderful exam for the unknown findings that can't be determined by the other modalities and also for the high risk patients.
They showed us a Womens Clinic that was dedicated to mammography breast imaging only. It also had a dedicated breast ultrasound and a dedicated breast MR scanner. It was awsome, the women would go in feet first and their head would be out. The bore was much shorter in length and the coil and apparatus that they laid on was perfect for the womens body. It looked alot more comfortable for the patient rather then just doing the breast in a regular MR machine. The whole set up was amazing, the patient would only deal with one individual for the whole exam other then the Radiologist. The original tech that performed the mammo would also perform the ultrasound and MR if needed and they are also trying to get passed that they can do clinical breast exams as well. The whole concept was very nice and comforting to a women who is already nervous going in for their exam. I was a little surprized when I found out that the techs did not have to be certified to do the MR's and that there is not a certification for breast MR alone, like there is with breast ultrasound. One of the things I did learn from the class is that I do not regret picking the profession that I did, even though the job market is so bad, because we really do provide the vision from within that saves lives. I was really getting depressed about the job availability and was starting to rethink my career choice and this class came at a perfect time for me.
Well now it is back to reality and back to clinicals next week. I hope that I can pick right back up where I left off. I was working pretty independently before I left, but it seems that whenever I come back from a break of some kind I always am missing a step or two. Post more later, hope everyone is doing well....
They showed us a Womens Clinic that was dedicated to mammography breast imaging only. It also had a dedicated breast ultrasound and a dedicated breast MR scanner. It was awsome, the women would go in feet first and their head would be out. The bore was much shorter in length and the coil and apparatus that they laid on was perfect for the womens body. It looked alot more comfortable for the patient rather then just doing the breast in a regular MR machine. The whole set up was amazing, the patient would only deal with one individual for the whole exam other then the Radiologist. The original tech that performed the mammo would also perform the ultrasound and MR if needed and they are also trying to get passed that they can do clinical breast exams as well. The whole concept was very nice and comforting to a women who is already nervous going in for their exam. I was a little surprized when I found out that the techs did not have to be certified to do the MR's and that there is not a certification for breast MR alone, like there is with breast ultrasound. One of the things I did learn from the class is that I do not regret picking the profession that I did, even though the job market is so bad, because we really do provide the vision from within that saves lives. I was really getting depressed about the job availability and was starting to rethink my career choice and this class came at a perfect time for me.
Well now it is back to reality and back to clinicals next week. I hope that I can pick right back up where I left off. I was working pretty independently before I left, but it seems that whenever I come back from a break of some kind I always am missing a step or two. Post more later, hope everyone is doing well....
Monday, April 5, 2010
Learning the skill of Mipping an image!!!!
Well in this week of clinicals I learned how to MIP images. We seemed to have a majority of MRA's of the brain and neck or carotids. We also had a soft tissue neck which I had not seen before. I have comped out on an MRA of the head but not the carotids. However the tech I was with let me MIP the carotids after she was done with the exam. It will probably be a while before I get to do an MRA of the neck since it involves a perfect timing issue to get the contrast just perfect with the arterial flow, and if you mess it up, you can't go back and redo it. I did see one that got messed up and we had to send everything including the venous flow due to it not being timed right with the contrast. I feel like it was a good thing that I saw that because now I realize how important it is, to get the timing just right.
I feel pretty comfortable with the MRA of the head exam, and I like the mipping part of both the exams. I really think it is fasinateing how you get it to rotate around and head of heels. The detail is wonderful, it reminds me of when I first started x-ray and saw the techs utilize this tool in IR. Back then I really was amazed but had no clue what they were doing or what I was even looking at. It seems amazing how far I have come on this journey and how much I have learned since I started school. I can't help but to wonder what the technology will be like ten years from now in MR and all the other imaging modalities. I am really worried now about the job market and getting all my exams required to be able to sit for the boards, but I am still glad I picked this profession.
Hope everything is going well with everyone, and I will post more later.
I feel pretty comfortable with the MRA of the head exam, and I like the mipping part of both the exams. I really think it is fasinateing how you get it to rotate around and head of heels. The detail is wonderful, it reminds me of when I first started x-ray and saw the techs utilize this tool in IR. Back then I really was amazed but had no clue what they were doing or what I was even looking at. It seems amazing how far I have come on this journey and how much I have learned since I started school. I can't help but to wonder what the technology will be like ten years from now in MR and all the other imaging modalities. I am really worried now about the job market and getting all my exams required to be able to sit for the boards, but I am still glad I picked this profession.
Hope everything is going well with everyone, and I will post more later.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Ready for the second half!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well we are back for the second half of the semester and I am starting to feel like a real MRI tech. The techs at my site have pretty much gave me full control of the scans I have already comped out on. They are around, but they leave me alone while scanning, this is really boosting my confidence. I was able to comp out on four different exams the friday before spring break. I was able to comp out on an IAC, ankle, hip, and a MRA of the head. We don't have a whole lot of chances to get full IAC's at my facility. We add an IAC sequence on to our heads for dizziness, but don't get the full exam very often. I was glad I was able to get to do one. Hopefully I will be able to get a couple more so I can use the exams for 3 of the board comps.
I have been tallying up all my exams and keeping track of them for board eligibility and so far I have about 70 some exams but still need allot more to sit for the boards. I am getting a little bit worried that I will not have all my exams by the end of clinicals. Hopefully I will find a PRN job somewhere so I can finish them up and take the boards before the end of 2010. The facility I am at is talking about maybe hiring me on as a PRN basis for mammo. They have a girl leaving on maternity leave in June and I am taking my mammo class in April so they are discussing training me in mammo afterwards. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Well I hope everyone had a nice spring break and I will post more later.
I have been tallying up all my exams and keeping track of them for board eligibility and so far I have about 70 some exams but still need allot more to sit for the boards. I am getting a little bit worried that I will not have all my exams by the end of clinicals. Hopefully I will find a PRN job somewhere so I can finish them up and take the boards before the end of 2010. The facility I am at is talking about maybe hiring me on as a PRN basis for mammo. They have a girl leaving on maternity leave in June and I am taking my mammo class in April so they are discussing training me in mammo afterwards. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
Well I hope everyone had a nice spring break and I will post more later.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Shoulders, knees, and lumbars
Well my clinicals have not been very exciting lately. I am starting to get a little worried about comps. We are getting nothing but shoulders, knees, and lumbars for exams, I think they are on special here in Crawfordsville. I was able to do an MRA of the head with help and I might be able to comp out on one next week, I am keeping my fingers crossed. I almost had a thoracic but they canceled.
I was able to see a shoulder exam this week on an older gentleman that had a mass come up on his posterior back around his shoulder blade area. He stated that it did not hurt however it was getting bigger and seemed to have fever in it. He had been diagnosed with renal cell cancer last year and had chemo and was getting CT scans quite regular for followup to see if it had spread. This shoulder exam was quite different we added several other sequences to the post scans. Actually this is the first shoulder exam I had seen done with contrast in the facility here. We weren't sure if the shoulder coil we had would get all the mass, and we weren't sure which coil to use. It turned out that the shoulder coil was able to get all of it, allthough we had to open up the field of view alot and then flip the shoulder due to the angle we used had flipped it the wrong way. We haven't got the report back yet to see what it actually was, but the mass did enhance with the contrast. I was off of clinicals today and won't be able to find out until next week. I sure hope it is nothing cancer related. The whole exam took almost 2 hours once we got him in the scanner due to the scans being longer and more post scans. He was a real trooper. It was a very interesting case.
Well other then that nothing much to write about just getting alot more practice scanning. Talk to everyone later!!!!!!!!!!!
I was able to see a shoulder exam this week on an older gentleman that had a mass come up on his posterior back around his shoulder blade area. He stated that it did not hurt however it was getting bigger and seemed to have fever in it. He had been diagnosed with renal cell cancer last year and had chemo and was getting CT scans quite regular for followup to see if it had spread. This shoulder exam was quite different we added several other sequences to the post scans. Actually this is the first shoulder exam I had seen done with contrast in the facility here. We weren't sure if the shoulder coil we had would get all the mass, and we weren't sure which coil to use. It turned out that the shoulder coil was able to get all of it, allthough we had to open up the field of view alot and then flip the shoulder due to the angle we used had flipped it the wrong way. We haven't got the report back yet to see what it actually was, but the mass did enhance with the contrast. I was off of clinicals today and won't be able to find out until next week. I sure hope it is nothing cancer related. The whole exam took almost 2 hours once we got him in the scanner due to the scans being longer and more post scans. He was a real trooper. It was a very interesting case.
Well other then that nothing much to write about just getting alot more practice scanning. Talk to everyone later!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
New Semester Introduction
Most of you all ready know me and have been in clinicals right along with me, however for the new people I will introduce myself again. My name is Kathleen Jensen, (go by Kathy), and I am an x-ray tech at IU hospital in Indianapolis. I work third shift Fri, Sat, and Sunday nights. I am currently taking MRI clinicals and hope to land an MR job in an outpatient diagnostic center. I am also interested in completing my mammo clinicals and getting certified in this modality also. I have really enjoyed taking courses through USI to get my BS degree in CT/MR imaging. The online classes have made this task allot easier for me to succeed and work while raising a family. I have four children (one at home 12) who keeps me very busy. I also have 3 grandchildren and one on the way, who I enjoy spending time with. We just purchased a new house and I have a feeling I will be redecorating, which will also take up allot of time. So you can see I am very busy and online classes work well for me. I look forward to reading every one's blogs and hope all of us have a great semester.
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