I am a diagnostic radiographer - AMA

What is an advanced practitioner?

Is your job stressful?

Hi all

I thought I'd open up a thread for any questions that anyone has about being a diagnostic radiographer.

About me: I have been qualified for over seven years now and recently got a job as an advanced practitioner in MRI and CT. I still occasionally work in x-ray as well.

I'm happy to answer any questions about the career, whether you are just looking into doing radiography, are currently a student, or perhaps recently qualified and have something on your mind.

This might include things like applying for jobs, Band 5/6/7 interview tips, career options, NHS vs private sector, and so on.

I'm probably less useful at helping with university applications but I'll do my best where I can and I'm sure others will chip in too.

I will try to be as objective and honest as possible as I've always found useful information can be difficult to come by, especially when I was originally applying for the course. I won't just be selling the job onto everyone!

Fire away!

I have been meaning to ask this question from A radiographer. If I recall correctly, You guys deal with diagnosing diseases through radioactive isotopes, right? What I want to ask is Why the isotope isnt very dangerous? I mean If it has high rate of decay at first, why doesnt it cause horrible mutations like cancer in the first hour or so?

Hi there, I’ve been looking into studying radiography myself but I can be quite squeamish when it comes to blood. Will this be an issue in this career?
Also, how did you find adapting to doing nights and unsociable hours?
Many thanks in advance

Hi there, I’ve been looking into studying radiography myself but I can be quite squeamish when it comes to blood. Will this be an issue in this career?
Also, how did you find adapting to doing nights and unsociable hours?
Many thanks in advance

Hi, apologies for the slow reply!

As above really, there is blood to be seen whenever you work in A&E or in theatre. You're also regularly exposed to putrid smells and other things not very nice to look at (sores/ulcers). If you can learn to enjoy a bit of gore then it would help.

Nights are tough regardless of how busy you are. If you are busy then you get worn out, if you're quiet then you're just sitting around all night, and that can be equally exhausting. The key with nights is to ensure you get a decent rest the day before and after. I think people with young families struggle as their timetables still start early in the morning and you don't get the sleep you need the following day.

Nights are also the worst place to be if you are even slightly ill. A light cold will get significantly worse come 3am and you feel dreadful the following day.

A sensible rota is important. It's no good jumping between long/early/late/night shifts constantly over the course of a week as you can't get into any kind of routine. I think most places have this sorted but you can be expected to cover any range of duties if staff levels require you to.

Hi there. I'm starting as a band 5 radiographer this week. Feeling quite nervous for my first few days, do you have any tips for a newly qualified radiographer? The idea of having all the responsibility and having to justify my own images and requests is daunting. Also, what would be a good answer for when you are doing mobile x-rays and the patient in another bed bay asks you why everyone else is told to move away when you're x-raying but not them. Thanks!

I am planning on studying a Diagnostic Radiography course. What sort of content do you cover in the course?
What do you do as a radiographer? Do you only take X-Ray, CT and MRI scans?

You cover all diagnostic procedures, the physics regarding the diagnostic equipment, you will get what we call Ospreii exams where you will identify the anatomy, type of view used as well as diagnose any pathology, and you will get a Viva exam as well which is basically where you get given an image and you need to discuss it and appraise the image. You will also get a written diagnostic exam every year and a written physics exam.

What you do as a radiographer depends what you specialise in. You will start out in general Radiography though as a graduate so you’ll most likely do rotations in plain film, CT, theatre, A&E, MRI and ultrasound.

How is the course assessed? Do you need to do oral presentations?

Is the radiography course heavily based on physics then? Is there lots of maths and equations involved with the course?

Hi,

I just started my job as a band 5 radiographer 2 weeks ago and I’m finding it quite stressful as I’m working somewhere I didn’t train at so I’ve been trying to adjust to their equipment, protocols etc at the same time trying to make sure my x-rays are up to scratch lol. They won’t chuck you in the deep end straight away but it’s important to speak up if you’re not sure of something or comfortable doing something by yourself straight away.

For the original poster, I’m just wondering if it’s normal for me to feel this stressed so early in the job, I loved it as a student but now I’m wondering if it’s the right career for me, at the same time it has only been 2 weeks so maybe I’m overreacting lol