Page 17 - August

The loss of one-on-one conversations can make an impact.
“We’re used to radiologists being in the room,” Deitte says. “Phone or text conversations work

but decrease the camaraderie and collaboration. There’s a sense that feedback suffers when
everyone isn’t in the same room. You also lose instructional opportunities when the interaction
is not in person.”

Physical Work Environment

The hands-on aspect of RT tasks can lead to physical stress and burnout. There is a consistent
need to move and adjust patients. A lack of proper equipment or supplies can result in an unsafe
work environment, which can result in workplace injuries.

“Physical stress on the body can become a problem for techs,” Reingold says. “The organization
typically has something to offer to staff to reduce these issues, whether it’s a workplace
ergonomic person or occupational safety nurse to ensure proper equipment use.”

Environmental issues also can have an impact on workflow, specifically as it pertains to the
patient experience.

“Any difficulties in the day-to-day operation of the imaging suite can lead to technologists feeling
rushed with their patients,” Deitte says. “Under difficult situations, there’s not much time for

small talk with patients. The technologist can come across as less empathetic.”

To help manage the physical environment, Vanderbilt regularly rotates staff schedules so RTs are
not always dealing with the same types of cases. Rotating RTs between surgical and outpatient
cases is a way to alleviate a single cause of stress, as each area comes with its own unique work
demands.

In addition, an increase in nonpatient care tasks, such as reporting and compliance

documentation, or other expanded duties, can add stress to the RT routine by creating a
distraction from core responsibilities.

“While most of the nonpatient care tasks are not stressful in and of themselves, doing other
tasks that take us away from our primary job while leaving other coworkers to [perform the]
scan can be stress inducing,” Reingold says. “The need to feel competent in these other tasks
can be challenging, and the need to learn additional systems and programs may be hard on some

techs.”

Change Where Needed

Reingold adds that unpredictability in the health care industry can also increase stress. Nothing
has created more uncertainty in recent months than the outbreak of COVID-19, with increased
stress levels created by a lack of information regarding the illness and concerns about sufficient
PPE.