Well, I hate to say it but I did not feel like I accomplished much this week. I had school for 2 days, and then all day Wed I just followed a sonographer, I didn't get to do any scanning because we were busy. Then today I had to go to a 3 hour orientation meeting. I learned about stopping the spread of infection and about the different aspects of the medical imaging department.
I did however get to scan an abdomen today with a big part on my own. I was able to get the right kidney and the sonographer kept all my pictures. I was pretty happy about that. I was also able to get the gallbladder pretty clear. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a good image of the stones within the gallbladder. I still need to work on pushing a lot harder, especially on larger people.
Next week I really need to get more scanning time in.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Jan 3-7th.
Well, I am not a hundred percent sure what I should write about. This was the last week of full time clinicals. We have to go back to school next week. I am a bit scared about that.
Let's see what did I see that was interesting this week at the hospital. I got to see a scan of a man's scrotum that made for some neat images. He had had surgery on the right and then more recently a lot of pain and swelling. The scan showed a decent amount of fluid on the right. The fluid was constantly moving around, which made the pictures look kind of neat.
I have been able to scan a bit more mainly the carotids and kidneys. I like how the carotid images turn out. I have a lot of trouble getting the long images. It is a bit rough to completely clear out the vessel to get the best b/w image you can. I was working with a tech this week that let me start an exam while he finished up some stuff. I finished pretty much all the images of the right kidney. I was worried that they may not have been the best, but he kept all of them. I was pretty happy about that. The only thing he went back and did was take a better look at the pathology that I thought I had seen.
I have learned that I do not push hard enough with the transducer. Whenever someone is helping me scan they immediately stick the transducer down and get a much clearer image, and realize that I was not pushing that hard. The only time I have discovered that I am pushing too hard is on the lower extremity venous studies. Of course this is when you do not want to push too hard so that you are not pushing the vein too hard.
I got to see my first pelvic exam of an actual pregnancy. The only 2 before this week were most likely ectopic pregnancies. This one was there was an actual fetus that could be visualized. It was interesting and neat to see the measurements and what they mean as far as the pregnancy.
Well, that about sums up this week. I need to start becoming more confident and faster at the exams that I am helping with. I am starting to get pretty comfortable with the paras and thoras. At least setting everything up.
Let's see what did I see that was interesting this week at the hospital. I got to see a scan of a man's scrotum that made for some neat images. He had had surgery on the right and then more recently a lot of pain and swelling. The scan showed a decent amount of fluid on the right. The fluid was constantly moving around, which made the pictures look kind of neat.
I have been able to scan a bit more mainly the carotids and kidneys. I like how the carotid images turn out. I have a lot of trouble getting the long images. It is a bit rough to completely clear out the vessel to get the best b/w image you can. I was working with a tech this week that let me start an exam while he finished up some stuff. I finished pretty much all the images of the right kidney. I was worried that they may not have been the best, but he kept all of them. I was pretty happy about that. The only thing he went back and did was take a better look at the pathology that I thought I had seen.
I have learned that I do not push hard enough with the transducer. Whenever someone is helping me scan they immediately stick the transducer down and get a much clearer image, and realize that I was not pushing that hard. The only time I have discovered that I am pushing too hard is on the lower extremity venous studies. Of course this is when you do not want to push too hard so that you are not pushing the vein too hard.
I got to see my first pelvic exam of an actual pregnancy. The only 2 before this week were most likely ectopic pregnancies. This one was there was an actual fetus that could be visualized. It was interesting and neat to see the measurements and what they mean as far as the pregnancy.
Well, that about sums up this week. I need to start becoming more confident and faster at the exams that I am helping with. I am starting to get pretty comfortable with the paras and thoras. At least setting everything up.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Goals
In order for me to be successful in this program I need to get myself back on track. I have never been a poor student and it is freaking me out that I had so much trouble so far in school. I am going to really have to buckle down and get myself together. This means a lot more studying than I have ever done in my life. It also means that I have to put school ahead of everything. No more slacking off. I have to get my whole life back on track. I know that I had excuses to fall back on the first semester, but it is not what my grandma and mom would have wanted from me. Both of them were very excited with my choice of majors, so now I must show them and me that I am able to do it. I cannot let them or me down.
My other main focus needs to be making sure that I am getting as much scanning time as I can. Even if this just means that I just start the exam while I wait for the them to come over and take over. I also need to work on the worksheets that Janet has so nicely put together for me. Right now I should be focusing on scanning the renals. I know the whole protocol, I just need to put it all together.
I will start the new semester out right. I will get myself re motivated to succeed, because I feel that ultrasound is a great career choice and something that I will very much enjoy.
My other main focus needs to be making sure that I am getting as much scanning time as I can. Even if this just means that I just start the exam while I wait for the them to come over and take over. I also need to work on the worksheets that Janet has so nicely put together for me. Right now I should be focusing on scanning the renals. I know the whole protocol, I just need to put it all together.
I will start the new semester out right. I will get myself re motivated to succeed, because I feel that ultrasound is a great career choice and something that I will very much enjoy.
Clinicals
Well, it was a pretty busy week back. I have gotten more used to the flow of the hospital and have gotten a chance to watch a lot of exams. I have also had a chance to to start some of the exams such as the carotid and renals. I have gotten kind of comfortable with all the transverse images. Now I need to focus more on clearing up the picture and getting the vessels as clear as I can. I have had some trouble with the kidneys. We have discovered that I am not pushing hard enough. I need to start working on applying more pressure and realizing that if it is really too hard the patients will definitely let me know.
Poor Janet has had a lot going on recently, but I was able to follow her around a whole day this week. She is very helpful and great at explaining things. She took me through a most of a carotid exam including the black/white, color and doppler images required for the protocol. It is a bit rough remember all the buttons and stuff that you have to push in order to take the pictures. Janet makes it seem so easy until she lets go of my hand and I lose the place she was.
I am very glad that everyone at the hospital has been so helpful and patient.
Poor Janet has had a lot going on recently, but I was able to follow her around a whole day this week. She is very helpful and great at explaining things. She took me through a most of a carotid exam including the black/white, color and doppler images required for the protocol. It is a bit rough remember all the buttons and stuff that you have to push in order to take the pictures. Janet makes it seem so easy until she lets go of my hand and I lose the place she was.
I am very glad that everyone at the hospital has been so helpful and patient.
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