Curtis Carpenter's Blog (8)

"We can't x-ray him, he's too big!"...This was a statement I had from a radiology student earlier today when approached with an abdominal x-ray on a morbidly obese patient. My answer? "Too bad, figure it out". Yes, the patient was on the upper end of 400 pounds, and yes, he was extremely difficult to radiograph, however, it had to be done. All too often a student (or even a seasoned technologist for that matter) will come to wits end on a proper approach to imaging the morbidly obese, and… Continue

First I'd like to say that I try to steer away from politics on this blog. This blog's primary purpose is for education and I don't think creating a segregation of our political dichotomy is a smart way of encouraging readership. With that said, we have a major problem in Washington. Sure, there are differing views on how to improve the economy, lower unemployment, how to conduct our defense department, so on and so forth. However, one thing that I think most people would agree upon, if… Continue

How many times have you been asked, "Are you a Doctor?", or after a radiograph is taken a patient asks, "So is it broken?", or even when it's explicitly stated that you are not a physician, a patient says, "Come on, you've seen enough of these. Do I have cancer?". I'm sure the answer to the number of times you've heard these questions is anywhere from once to hundreds of thousands. A lot of times it's very tempting to answer these questions in order to prevent confrontation with a patient or to… Continue

A common question from a lot of patients is "Isn't radiation bad for me?" or "How much radiation am I going to receive from this x-ray?" or "Is this exam going to give me cancer?" Those aren't dumb questions and honestly, they're very difficult questions to answer in terms that a patient can understand. Better yet, they're difficult questions to answer in terms that a physicist can understand. I'm going to try and attempt the impossible and give a "layman's" explanation to some of these… Continue

Have you ever wondered who may be performing your x-ray examination? Chances are it's not a highly qualified individual.



Many offices and clinics have taken the liberty to hire Medical Assistants with Basic X-Ray Machine Operator (BMO) licenses to perform not only their Medical Assistant position but also the Radiologic Technologist's position. Medical Assistants are highly qualified individuals who are able to give injections, apply bandages, take vital signs, and assist physicians;… Continue

Wanna be an RT? Think it's a quick 2 year degree? Simple...Right? I'll let you in on a little secret...It's not as easy as it sounds.



As a Clinical Instructor for a local university, I can't tell you how many times I see a prospective student come into my place of employment with that silly smirk on his or her face thinking, "This will be a fast way for me to make some easy money!" Ummmm...Not so fast. I ask every single prospective student the same thing, "Why do you want to be an… Continue

How often have you had a patient that you feel extreme sympathy for, you know is wasting your time, or you simply would like to strangle? Nearly every patient in a hospital, clinic, or doctor's office fits this criteria. The important thing is how you control yourself and react to every patient and his or her needs. The facility, the department, your staff, and yourself are all reflected on how you deal with every single patient and ultimately, how it's perceived that they're being…

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It seems to me that there is a preconceived notion in the "radiology world" that there are too many Radiologic Technologists in the so-called employment pool. The theory behind this is that there are tons of public and private educational facilities with radiology programs installed into their curriculum. A radiology program is fairly simple and cheap for an institution to implement and conduct, and the demand of students seems to continue climbing. Along with federal and state subsidies and… Continue