We
spent the past 2 days in the radiology department and I would have to say it
was one of the best experiences that I've had in a department (besides watching
the surgery). We started out with one of the doctors showing us an
overview of the department. He showed us the CT, MRI, X-ray, and ultrasound
machines and told us about how they all worked.
Once
patients started arriving we observed each of the machines and the residents in
those areas explained a little how they worked. If there was an interesting
case in another area a resident would come get us and bring us there. They did
the best job I think of really explaining what was happening and making us feel
somewhat involved and not just in the way.
I
really enjoyed seeing how each of these machines worked since I’ve never had
any of the tests done nor actually see them performed in real life. Some of the
interesting things we saw were: a young man with a brain tumor so they mapped
it out on the CT scan so they knew where to target the radiation, a CT assisted
biopsy of the lung, a ultrasound assisted biopsy of the abdomen, and some MRI
scans of cancer that had spread to the brain and had multiple malignancies.
We
learned that most of the time patients don’t come to the doctor especially the
radiology department until something is really wrong. They said that for the
most part they don’t have to use a lot of contrast because the scans show up
pretty clear when there is a problem since the growths are usually rather
large. They said that in the US it is more common to need to contrast to pick
up the problems since they are typically smaller masses.
We
spent quite a bit of time in the ultrasound part and watched as mother after
mother had an ultrasound done on her baby. It was really amazing to see all of
the body parts and we were able to identify them as time went on. I wasn’t quite
as good as Courtney, but was still able to pick out the body parts. We really
aren’t experts, but now if the ultrasound is in position I can pick out quite a
few body parts. We also learned how they measure the femur, head circumference,
and abdomen circumference to determine gestational age and if the fetus is
growing at a proper rate. We also discussed more about how it is illegal to
tell the patients the sex of the baby and the professor/doctor we talked with
showed us a powerpoint on this and really explained more about it.
They
also were very concerned about what we did for fun, if we liked the food, and if
we were enjoying our stay. They gave us some tips on places that we should
visit and also some restaurants that we should try out. They were all really
surprised that we ate in the mess hall because many of them said that they didn’t
even eat there. These types of conversations have been common in most of the
departments that we’ve visited, but they just seemed to be more interested in
our answers and really gave us suggestions on things to do.
I've been slacking on my picture taking so I don't have any to add to this post so I apologize for that and will try to do a little better next time ;)
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