Page 27 - IMPRESSION Newsletter April19

perform the highest quality image that fits the
needs of both the ordering provider and the
radiologist. This can be a difficult bridge to
negotiate as the needs of each may be in direct
conflict with each other. This conundrum can
often be difficult to reconcile. The following
basic tips may help address this issue:
TIP #1: Communicate
It sounds like a no brainier, but sometimes a
short discussion with the provider may help to
enlighten them to the radiologist’s need for a
high quality exam. In some cases, a phone call
to the radiologist could provide a bit of
guidance to help perform the best exam that
meets the needs of the all involved.
TIP #2: Know your equipment
Not all equipment or imaging rooms for that
matter are the same. In order to best prepare
yourself for success, you need to know the
nuts and bolts and how each manufacturers
equipment works. Here are some examples.
• Are the techniques saved within the
imaging system accurate?
• Do you fully understand how to
navigate within the imaging system’s
computer interface?
Knowing these points, will not only
dramatically increase your chances of success
but will also save you from looking confused
once you are in the middle of an exam.
TIP #3: Learn from your co-workers
There can be a tendency within some Imaging
Departments to want to be known as a
“RADTECH SUPERSTAR or SUPERTECH!”
However, at the end of the day the mission is
to help people get better not get a big.
Sometimes, a technologist must eat a little
crow and asked another tech who is
particularly good at a certain type of exam to
show you there technique. By doing this, you
will be able to learn a few simple tips that
would have otherwise taken ten years and
over 100 retakes to figure out.
Tip #4 Learn from bad images
Next time you over rotate an oblige lumber
spine or clip the pubic symphysis on a KUB,
instead of just repeating the image, take a
second to either take a mental note or actually
write down what you think caused the image to
need repeating. You can learn a lot from your
mistakes if you put the effort in. Instead of
continually making the same mistake, you can
purchase an imaging critique book or find some
information online which will help show you what
an over or under-rotated oblique lumber spine
looks like. From there, you can try to look at your
old images and see if your oblique lumber spine x-
rays look like they are typically over-rotated or
under-rotated.
Tip #5: Do the same thing every time
There is a saying in the imaging world, “first time
every time.” One way to help consistently produce
high quality images is to do the same thing every
time, IE having a system. This was particularly
helpful when doing portable exams since you
never know what situation you are going into.
Tip #6: Be smooth
Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.” No one likes to
hear this, especially in a hospital as busy as ours.
However, when you are rushing through exams in
a frantic attempt to keep up with the seemingly
endless volume of orders, you hurt all involved.
Working fast leads to mistakes and errors that
often lead to additional work and wasted time.
Working smooth allows for a consistent quality,
increased awareness, and an overall better result
for all involved. If you look closely at how elite
infantry move, it is normally somewhere between
a walk and a run while rhythmically scanning the
battlefield in all directions. “Slow is smooth”
should not be used as justification for paralysis by
analysis. The central premise of the philosophy is
movement—movement that is considered but also
constant.