I'm a sonographer/radiographer- ask me anything.

[Menarefrommarsitwouldseem]

I believe it's not a widely discussed healthcare profession.

I qualified as a Radiographer 10 years ago and more recently trained as a sonographer so I can ultrasound as well as X-ray and CT.
I currently work for the NHS in a major trauma centre.

I had a CTC last Friday, when will I get the results? X

Necessary, thanks so much for your reply. Very interesting and reassuring as I have a CT scan coming up! I’ve often wondered about airline staff & their exposure when flying. I know a few who have worked the long haul routes and have had a cancer diagnosis after retirement. Fascinating subject

I went for an x-ray and had to remove my underwear. Then realised I had a belly bar in and had to remove it, however I couldn’t undo it. There were two male radiographers there, so one had to undo it. By now I was already in a gown so it had to be lifted. I found it funny. They were great and offered to get a female to come with me as he was about to do it. But I said I was fine as long as he was. (Having works in health care since giving up teaching I’ve seen a lot of the human body so it doesn’t bother me.

So anyway it just turned into us all laughing, and the first guy couldn’t undo it so the second guy had to have a go and he suceeded. They thanked me at the end for giving them a laugh on a boring day, and asked if I would mind if they shared the story. I said ‘well i’ll be sharing it!!’

So my question is- what is the funniest scenario you have had?

Can you tell whether someone has osteoporosis from an X-ray? I broke my ankle in Portugal and was told in by the doctor in A&E who examined the X-ray that I had the bones of a vey old person.
She turned out to be right - I had Osteoporosis at 48. I’ve always wondered if it was a lucky guess.

How common is it to be recalled for an EKG? I had one but now I have been asked to go back to have another one with contrast dye. The nurse I spoke to said this was because it was hard to get a clear image. Why would that have happened? Thanks!

Ps really I think you are all magicians, it all looks like blobs and blurs to me (and this includes when I was looking at ultrasounds of my dc )

@Joysandsorrows A transatlantic flight gives a radiation dose of about 1/100th if a CT scan, so over a whole career the dose could be not insignificant. However for context: 5 flights a week for 47 weeks a year over a 30 year career (just over 7000 flights and about as much as anyone could possibly do in a lifetime I would think) would be equivalent to about 70 CT scans worth of radiation, or an additional cancer risk of 1 in 35. However this is still actually fairly small compared to the average lifetime risk of approximately 1 in 3 as I said before, and I would think it was very rare for a single pilot or cabin crew to do anywhere near as many flights as this over a career.

That’s fascinating Necessary! My DH is a pilot so it’s very interesting to read. Do you enjoy your job ?

Thanks for this it is so interesting to read. I’d like to ask what a pelvic scan can show in relation to the veins/circulation in the legs. Thank you

@Joysandsorrows Yes, I love it! I always fancied being a doctor as a kid, but I decided it wasn't for me and anyway I was much better at physics. I did a physics degree and then found out that I could still work in a healthcare/NHS setting, putting my physics skills and knowledge to good use!

What pay band are you on the NHS payscale?

Hello,
I have a question.

I have a referral for the 21 week pregnancy scan, however I am in Bali until i'm 28 weeks pregnant & planning on just getting it when I get back to Australia
I'm trying to find out information on if there is a difference in what the radiographer is looking at in what they can see are abnormalities if its done at 21 weeks versus 28 weeks. Is it recommended it is done at 21 weeks for a reason? Can they not see the same things at 28 weeks that they could at 21, or is it diagnostically clearer at 21 weeks than 28?
I'm also trying to ascertain whether 28 weeks will be too late and render the scan pointless in what they are looking for.

Thank you

@Menarefrommarsitwouldseem can I please ask if you can tell me what this is please? Is it the cord, or girl/boy parts? 🤔 23weeks1day

I have only just received the notifications from this thread.
My apologies.

As you can imagine it has been an awful few months in the NHS.

The pregnancy scan I would say boy. Probably too late now Haha but that's what I think. I don't do obstetrics though so could be wrong.

I'm a band 7

The funniest thing that happened to me?
I once had a patient who had to come down for am xray or ct
I can't actually remember which modality anyway he was quite mobile and I asked him if he could shuffle across on to the table.
He said " yeah but hold on"
Lifted his leg. Out came sliced ham loads of it( not in the packet) which he ate. Then 2 dairylea triangles which he also ate.
I just stood there like hmmm this is weird.
Loads of funny things do happen. I could write a book.
I've asked patients to drop their Jeans on autopilot when I'm scanning their wrists and they just do.

The physics questions are probably best answered by the medical physics person. It isn't my forte really

Ct of the pelvis to look at legs and circulation I would imagine to be CT angio which are very good for that purpose.

Hi there. I'm a college student, applying for universities and was curious about what degree to take in order to go on to do obstetric sonography. I have researched and seen radiography,(can't do as no a level science), midwifery, nursing and health scienec. With health science I wasn't sure which degree this refers to. Could you also tell me what you did to become a sonographer if you don't mind.😊

The best way into sonography is to do a radiography degree first.
There is a sonography degree in certain universities but I would still go via radiography. You're not limited to one modality then.
I can x-ray, ct and ultrasound.

I went in via radiography.
Did my a levels ( all none science based) as I wanted to be a police officer.
Had a change of heart at 19 so had to do an access course. Similar to the health sciences they offer.
Applied to uni. Completed the radiography degree.
Worked as a radiographer and ct radiographer for 5 years and then went back to Uni to do post grad abdominal and general ultrasound.
Worked as a sonographer now but still do lots of CT.
You could do the degree and then go back to uni to do post grad obs ultrasound.

Hi there my last scan under a consultant at 32wk5 days showed the foot measuring more than the femur.

FL: 55mm
Foot: 62mm

Does this sound like a measurement mistake.