The average Joe may not realize the differences between an X-ray tech and a radiologist but they indeed do exist. When a person wheels into the x-ray room, the one actually using the machine to produce inner images is the X-ray technician. At her area’s county hospital, Onika Donaldson takes X-rays of patients with complex problems to those with minor complaints or false alarms at any time of the day. As an on-call healthcare professional, she views her job as challenging yet rewarding, bringing something new to her world whenever she is on the clock. Every image that she takes is as important as the one before as any one of them can mean life or death for a patient.
Onika says, “I love my job! The long hours are trying I will admit, but I do enjoy working in an environment where no two days are alike. Plus I get to meet new people and the staff is like family.”
She retells a typical day of her life as an X-ray technician:
5:00 p.m. Onika starts a 13-hour shift to fill in for another tech. X-rays are taken whenever needed, without consideration for the time of day. At hospitals, techs regularly must work any shift of the day until reaching seniority.
5:05 p.m. Stop by the radiology desk to check the schedule. Onika has training on other diagnostic imaging equipment so she does not spend her entire day in one room working one machine.
5:25 p.m. Calibrate the X-ray machine and review paperwork for a scan of a foreign object lodged in an extremity before bringing the patient in.
5:45 p.m. Perform additional X-rays per the schedule.
7:45 p.m. Meet with physician and radiologist in the interventional medicine room to map major arteries in a heart patient.
9:30 p.m. Go out for lunch with co-workers.
10:00 p.m. Return to floor for an unscheduled, emergency X-ray on two car accident victims. Many X-rays that she performs come from the day’s schedule but several more often arise unexpectedly. An X-ray tech has to be ready to roll with the surprises of the job.
12:45 a.m. Receive an emergency barium enema order. When called upon, X-ray techs assist in removing blockage in the bowels, a procedure that falls into the less-than-pleasant category of the job. At the end of the routine, the X-ray tech cleans up the mess.
2:00 a.m. Sit down to write reports of all of the patients and X-rays taken since her shift started. Technicians work under radiologists but also maintain records and offer opinion based on radiographs taken of the patient’s condition. Onika’s job is just as important as the rest of the patient’s team.
3:00 a.m. Rest on a break.
4:00 a.m. Go into the x-ray room to check and maintain machines. Before any patient comes in for an X-ray, imaging equipment has to be clean, set up properly, and ready to go, another less-than-alluring but necessary part of Onika’s job.
5:30 a.m. Respond to a call from the geriatric floor taking with her the facility’s mobile X-ray machine. Sometimes patients cannot come to the X-ray room for a number of reasons but they still need internal diagnostic imaging.
6:00 a.m. Go to the ultrasound room to set up imaging equipment to check for changes in a high-risk pregnancy in the 3rd trimester.
7:00 a.m. Return to the X-ray room to work out the day schedule.
7:45 a.m. Meet with the radiologist and oncoming tech to discuss reports.
8:00 a.m. Drive home to rest before the next shift (during the day this time) in 48 hours.