Before the simulation on Wednesday I completed the preparation work for the the week. I learned about pressure ulsers and how to prevent them, theatre (infection control and DHS procedure) and about best interests. theater prep work was particularly interesting and help me a lot in the simulation.
At the beginning of the week I already had a good amount of experience in theatre as I have completed 2 theatre weeks. I’ve had good experiences in theatre and have seen a range of cases from a DHS to endoscopy. Many radiographers talk about knowing the operation so you understand when the surgeon will need you. This links quite well to the pre activity where we had to fill in boxes on a DHS procedure. This helped me to consolidate my knowledge on the DHS procedure and assisted me in recalling the procedure during the simulation. Furthermore, doing the infection control activities was good given the current climate involving covid-19. It really helped to highlight everything that has changed. Doing these prep activities made me feel more aware of everything I have been doing on placement and gave me more context to what I was doing on placement. The simulation itself was very informative, I always like to practice moving the C-arm before I take part in any theatre case. The infection control simulations just helped me to consolidate what I already knew like putting a cover on the C-arm and making sure everything is in position to turn for a lateral so that no sterile areas become dirty. However, I did learn what a foot paddle on the C-arm was. I have never seen a foot paddle used before and no-one has ever showed me one. When the surgeon asked me to pass it to her I was unsure what to do and needed help from my peers to help me understand. This was a great learning experience and helped me to understand why surgeons cannot expose despite the theatre hierarchy.
This therefore leads me on to my action plan. Me action plan is to pay closer attention my equipment and ask more questions. This way I will hopefully be more aware and less likely to make mistakes. I am also going to do more work on the theatre hierarchy. This will help me understand my role more and what I am in control of in the operating theatre. I am also going to talk to radiographers about their experiences in theatre to find any tips they may have. For example, Claire mentioned taking the key out of the C-arm so no one is able to expose who isn’t qualified.
Moving on to the Mobile simulation, we X-rayed patients on beds that were angled in different ways. This was very helpful for me because it allowed me to see what I was doing wrong on a real X-ray and I was able to attempt it as many times as I needed to without fear of radiating the patient. After we had got the positioning correct, I felt very proud of us I learned that when X-raying kyphotic patient it’s is best to keep a straight tube. During the prep activities, I learned how to do a hospital corner. We were asked to replicate this in the simulation on one of the hospital beds. Making the patients bed after X-ray can help prevent pressure ulcers. This is really important to remember as pressure ulcers can kill. Furthermore, we were allowed to move the mobile and get used to adjusting it (like with the C-arm). This was also very informative because my placement site have just updated their equipment with mobiles similar to these ones. We also talked about acting in the patient’s best interests and how we measure someones capacity to understand and consent to a procedure. Specifically we talked about Gillick competence. Many of us in the group thought much younger children would have Gillick competence. However, Claire stated a child around the age of 13 would be judged to have Gillick competence.
My action plan for the mobiles simulation is to take part more in mobile examinations. It has been difficult in the current climate to get fully involved in doing mobiles. Due to covid-19 there aren’t many mobile examinations and when we do them, we often want to get in and out of the ward as soon as possible. However, I do need to get more involved especially in positioning the X-ray tube as this is what I find most difficult. During my next mobile week I will achieve this goal. To continue I always forget to re-adjust the patients bedding after an x-ray. This is now something I am more aware of and practice remembering to do this for every patient. Furthermore, I am in the pediatric department next week so learning about Gillick competence was very relivant to me and I am prepared to use my knowledge to successfully complete my pediatric competency.
Simulation Review 