Abby Conway 100505552
Day 1
On Monday we were set pre-reading to do which involved some interesting videos and some e-learning to do. The video of the terrorist attack showed how the hospital prepared for the incident and the stressful environment. It also opened my eyes to real paraprofessional learning and put the e-learning into perspective. I think this helped me, more than anything else, to understand real high intensity situations.
It was very interesting, but I still felt unprepared for the day after reading everything. I was unsure of the environment we were going to be in and what we were going to be doing. The e-learning course reassured me that I would be in a safe environment, however I still felt apprehensive especially after my mum told me she hated it when she was at university.
Day 2
Today was the first day of being in simulation. I felt comfortable in my group and felt I could make mistakes, and no one would judge me for not knowing something.
From my observations, the students started off well with ID and introductions to the patient. As it went on, they became more and more student focused by having lengthy conversations. I would talk with the radiographer but go into more detail with the radiographer once the patient was out of the room. The patient was also in pain while these discussions were happening, so both students were not being very patient-centred in this situation. The radiographer spoke clearly and gave polite instructions to the student. After seeing this, I took the other students’ comments on board.
In the next round, I was the student and my friend was the radiographer. I brought the patient in, introduced myself well, and ID checked. I got the patient on the table, however I had positioned for a foot instead of an ankle. I believe this is because I was nervous to take part in the simulation. I quickly re-positioned correctly and then I got asked to evaluate the image. The ankle was obviously broken but I wasn’t aware of any extra positioning that needed to take place. The type of injury the patient presented with was a maisonneuve fracture which I had not heard of before. The radiographer steps in and I step back, still not knowing what to do. After the simulation, we reflected on it and I got upset because I felt I didn’t know anything. I felt like I was under a lot of pressure, but the lecturer calmed me down and I was able to reflect on the situation. After looking up the projection that was needed for the examination I felt better and therefore more prepared for placement.
The first simulation of the afternoon was chest radiography which is something I enjoy. I volunteered to be the patient. The x-ray image was on the screen while we were setting up the simulation for the student and I was immediately able to identify the pathology as a pneumothorax. I was proud of myself and I was excited to be the patient. The radiographers treated me fairly well as a patient. They were good at communicating with me. For example, they told me the board would be cold and the x-ray would only take a second, which was reassuring. I think I did a good job being the patient as the observers told me it was realistic. In the reflection I learned it’s best to position someone by moving the sheets rather than pushing their body and what to do with the jewellery the patient is wearing. I was also able to name the area of interest with little help which boosted my confidence.
In the next simulation I was the student radiographer. I think I had good communication with the patient to start with. However, confusion over projections we were doing for the knee and lack of communication between me and the radiographer hindered my communication with the patient. I also forgot to prepare the room for a standing knee which took a while to set up once the patient was in the room. We spent a long time altering the x-ray tube which distracted me from the patient’s needs. He had mentioned he wasn’t good on his feet and we left him standing for a long period of time. Afterwards we said that we would give him a chair to sit on to make him more comfortable and prep the room beforehand. This would allow us to be more focused on the patient’s needs, and thus improving our patient-centred care and their experience. I was able to evaluate the image correctly using the ten-point check list.
Overall I think day two was very useful as it showed me the things that radiographers do automatically like preparing the room. It also made me realize the thought process behind evaluating an image and considering whether the image is of diagnostic quality. I also got used to the simulation environment and I know from personal experience that it is a safe space to make mistakes.
Day 3
It was very interesting to compare the simulated theatre environment to my experience on placement. It gave me new insights into what I can do as a student to enhance my experience. For example, watching the people coming in and out of the room to check they have lead aprons on, and introducing myself at the start of the procedure. From my experience, theatre isn’t as stressful as the simulated environment. If you can use the C-arm you can manage to do most things. However, the simulation did represent a more intense environment that can occur in high stress procedures. In these cases, I have learned that it is important to be clear when talking to the surgeon. In the afternoon, we interpreted chest radiography which really helped me understand clinical indications on request cards and what to look for on a chest x-ray.
Day 4
This morning we did mobile chest x-rays in the ward environment. This gave me a good insight into mobile radiography. I learned how important it is to introduce yourself to both the nurses and the patient. Furthermore, during my simulation, we needed to change the patient’s sheets and I wasn’t sure how to deal with this situation. During the discussion, the lecturer made it clear that we are part of a multidisciplinary team and that we needed to ask if the nurses wanted our help to clean the patient. In the future I will use my formative assignment to research the multidisciplinary teams and how to become a more effective team member. During the afternoon we learned about the technical side of CT and MRI. This helped me to understand the radiographers role while the patient is in the CT scanner. I will therefore use this knowledge on placement to ask better questions about CT and MRI and I will become an asset to the multidisciplinary team.
Simulation Review 