Monthly Archives: July 2016

#TOTW (x26!) #MedShift

Ciao!

This week, after securing the relevant permissions form my boss and the communications people at work, I finally took the plunge and joined the increasing number of health professionals that are using #MedShift. I was a tad wary of using it to start with to be honest  – and still am, come to that – because of the obvious issues relating to confidentiality and such like. However, this week when I was on nights I decided to tentatively dip my toes in the #MedShift ocean and below I have collated the results:

Night 1 of 4

  • 1 of 4: Handover from day shift – no outstanding portables, equipment OK(ish) I’m on 2000-0800. Let’s do this! 🏥
  • Halfway through the and after a challenging trauma patient it’s now time for a break – and relax 👍 🏥
  • Urgent portable req. for ward pt. vs. need for a CXR on ITU – 1 radiographer available – solution? Call ITU & OK to wait ✅ 🏥
  • Trauma calls, portables throughout the hospital, usual A&E patients & just 1 minor issue to handover to day shift. Job done! ✅ 🏥
  • Home safe 🏠 ☺️ Shower, tea, toast, and some tele to unwind, thence ta bed for this ‘r 🏥 1 down, 3 to go! 👍 Night peops! 🌙💤

 

Night 2 of 4

  • Great start to 2 of 4 – left the imaging detector on a patient’s trolley and had to go retrieve it from A&E! Oops! 🏥

  • Back from another trauma call – car vs. pedestrian, no plain films required ✅ as patient going to CT for scan 👍 🏥
  • This is the time in a when you just want to be at home in bed 😕 Not long to go thankfully! ✅ 🏥
  • 🏠 sweet 🏠! 2 down & 2 to go! 👍 After the necessary ablution & food it will be time 4 the best part of a – BEDTIME! ✅ 🏥

 

Night 3 of 4

  • A splash of Issey Miyake and I’m good to go! 3 of 4 here I go! 🏥 (Other EDTs are available! 😂)
  • Off on my first portable of the shift – elderly male too unwell to come down to the department. Not uncommon on a 🏥
  • Another chest/abdo request! Prob the most common combination imaging request! Male, abdo pain, vomiting, obstruction, query perf 🏥
  • Back from another portable – this time an elderly lady with difficulty breathing & definitely too unwell to come down to dept 🏥
  • Into the “golden hour” – the final hour of the 👍✅ Soon be time for 🏠 & 💤💤💤 after this 🏥
  • When you get home & realise there are chunks of the journey you just don’t remember – not good 😔 Just 1 more to go ✅ 🏥

 

Night 4 of 4

  • The ‘Q’ word is something we don’t mention – a bit like the Scottish play 😂 🏥
  • Last & I’ve yet to do probably the 2nd most common combo of foot&ankle – most unusual! 🏥
  • Preparations for departure! 4 of 4 done! Hope you’ve enjoyed my first foray into ✅👍🎉😴 L8rs!!!hometime

So there you have it – a set of nights in a nutshell. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed taking a look at them to get a glimpse of what it’s like as a radiographer on nightshift. I’ll continue to use #MedShift as and when, but I don’t intend to tweet every shift, all shift! It’s more to give an insight into the work we do – as not everyone knows what a radiographer is and does 🙂

Hopefully newly qualified radiographers can also get an idea of what lies ahead when they start on shift!

Oh well, as ever, feedback always appreciated!

Ben 🙂

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#TOTW from 20-07-16 ‘#BreastCancer symptoms’

Ciao!

This week I would like to use my #TOTW to highlight the following:

“…while 90 per cent of breast lumps are not cancerous it is always advisable to have them checked.”  http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/woman-shares-photo-of-dimple-to-raise-awareness-of-breast-cancer-symptoms-a7134226.htmlbreast-cancer

Please read it and share it amongst your friends on social media. If just one person checks themselves that wouldn’t have done so then it will be worth it. Simple as that.

#ReadLearnShare

Ben

#TOTW from 12-07-16 ‘Sex Ed in 2016 #SRE #LGBTI+ #EndTheSilence’

Ciao!

I think the tweet I have chosen for my #TOTW from last week seemed to slip under the radar and didn’t get noticed, so i’m putting it out there again with a bit of fanfare to hopefully get it a bit more attention!

“wholly unfit to prepare them for the realities of sex & relationships in 2016″ + ?

“Three-quarters of young people are not taught about sexual consent, while one in seven said they did not receive any sex and relationship education (SRE) at all, and 95% said they were not taught about LGBT relationships…and that where SRE is taught, young people said it was usually limited to biological topics such as reproduction, body parts and heterosexual sex.”

Now I know when I speak from personal experience we are going back to the late 80s but this was certainly the case for me. It was totally about heterosexual sex, and I don’t recall any discussion on sexuality, merely the mechanics of reproduction. It seems like things have improved since then, but from reading the article above it would appear that where it does take place, sex education still has a long way to go in schools to give children the information, reassurance and confidence they need:

  • Just 5% of young people who said they received SRE were taught about LGBT sex and relationships, while 97% believed it should be LGBT-inclusive.

The above findings form the report just go to show that young people want to learn more about sex and relationships and themselves believe that LGBT should be a part of that.

Seems pretty simple to me. It’s a matter of equality. Make it happen!

Cheers,

Ben 🙂

#TOTW from 06-07-16 ‘#bullying on clinical placement’

Ciao!

Another week, another #TOTW! This time i’d like to take the opportunity to re-highlight the issue of students being bullied whilst on clinical placement and so I chose:

“More than 60% of students feel they have been subjected to whilst on clinical placement,” 😦  

Any percentage of students feeling that they have been bullied whilst on clinical placement is not acceptable, but to hear that more than 60% of students asked felt they had experienced bullying whilst they were attending clinical practice is a terrible reflection on the radiography workforce. It makes me angry to think that there are radiographers out there who have forgotten what it’s like to be a student, and that they themselves were once a student and as such should no better!

Bullying in all forms is not acceptable. Simple as that. I ask my fellow radiographers to click on the link above and read the report, as well as the guidelines on bullying and harassment that are available to members of the Society.

It is our responsibility to give students the best possible experience they can possibly have so that they enjoy their time on clinical placement and in the future, once qualified, do the same for the next generation after them!

Please #ReadLearnShare.

Ben 🙂

The #HASBME16 Conference. My Reflections

Another interesting blog from Janice St.John-Matthews that is rather topical post-Brexit. I’d never really thought of the Irish as coming under the banner of BME (Black, Minority, Ethnic) population.

Well worth a read and a share to spread the message as far as possible.

Ben 🙂

janicestjohnmatthews

Earlier in the academic year I noticed a poster outside the UWE Glenside campus calling BME students to participate in a survey about their experiences at the University. Normally I would have walked past this without a second glance but a phrase at the bottom caught my eye “White other i.e. Polish, Irish”.  At the time I felt annoyed that someone would list Irish in this context.  After all I would never place myself in the BME category.  Those who read my blog will know I already have enough “labels” and do not need any more added to the list!

In the months after this “incident” I started to speak to the Irish students on the diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy programmes about being listed as BME.  Historically Irish students have come to the UK to train as radiographers and most of you reading this blog will know an Irish healthcare…

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#TOTW from 28-06-16 ‘#DeafAwareness’

Ciao!

A little later than usual, but I still wanted to push out a #TOTW from last week as it’s something I feel is important and often under-valued:

I’m about to begin the online course to learn some basic

signlanguage

Last week I signed up to the British Sign Languages’s basic online course:

http://www.british-sign.co.uk/learn-online-british-sign-language-course/

It’s just £19.99 for one year of access to the vast online resources of BSL. You can do the course at your own pace as there are not set times it has to be completed. I’ve always wanted to have a go at this to see if I can pick up some basics, and who knows, if I enjoy it then I might “sign-up” for some more course at uni in the future!

Go on, take a look and maybe join me in learning some sign language!

Cheers!

Ben 🙂