Friday, August 7, 2015

Things I've Learned // as an X-ray Tech


Growing up, I never thought I'd end up in the medical field. I always wanted to be a marine biologist or a teacher. Radiography never crossed my mind. Even though I've complained about my job many times, I've learned a LOT about the human body, technology, and just people in general. I've come a loooong way over the past 5 years! Here are some of the important lessons I've learned...

...the human body is a gift and we should treat it as such. I don't want to say "YOLO", but... you only live once. We've been given this body as our shell and if we fill it with garbage, that's what it will become. A lot of damage we do to our bodies is irreversible and could easily be prevented by simply taking better care of ourselves.

...sometimes, you have to get creative. Every situation I encounter is definitely not textbook. People can't move a certain way or can't be still as long as necessary to produce the optimal shot. You have to learn to work with patients and the situation. This not only applies to x-ray, but with photography as well.

...people will put objects in strange places. I don't encounter this nearly as much in an office setting as I did in the hospital. I'll just leave it at that.

...kindness goes a long way. If someone is at the clinic, something is obviously wrong. They are most likely nervous, so go out of your way a little just to be extra kind to them. Many people won't acknowledge it, but it is so worth it when someone does! 

...the people who are hurting the most, complain the least. This is pretty general but I've found this to be true 99.5% of the time! The ones hollering for me to hurry up usually are not the ones with the serious injuries. Most people will tolerate the pain in order to know what's going on.

...there's always someone worse off than you. This sounds morbid and it somewhat is. But we are so quick to complain and take so much for granted. Since I've been in the medical field, I've encountered some extremely sick people. Always remember, someone somewhere is struggling worse than you. 

4 lovely notes:

Amy said...

people put things in strange places
BAHAHAHAHHA oh bless

Laura Darling said...

This is so interesting, especially the one about people in the most pain complaining the least! And I can only imagine the things you've seen! :)

Lacey said...

Omg, lolol, I laughed so much at #3! I can only imagine the sights you've seen....

Victoria said...

First of all - I really wanted to be a marine biologist too! To this day, a documentary on the ocean and the creatures that live in it grabs my attention. :)

What you said about being kind really stopped me in my tracks. I never really thought about it like that before...but it's so true! I'll approach my time at doctor's offices A LOT differently from now on. When I go, it's usually with someone else or for something simple. I guess I always assumed it's "business as usual" for everyone there, but some of them may really be getting/fighting some terrible news!

And what kinds of things are we talking about?!?!?! I know that I've noticed people pulling allll kinds of things out of their pants and bras and it really, really creeps me out. YOU HAVE POCKETS. AND YOU'RE CARRYING A PURSE. AND, YOU HAVE TWO HANDS.


Thanks for sharing what you've learned! You're in a great field!!!