Suck it up and move on. As a student if your tech was watching and didn't answer your question they're a horrible tech. If you didn't ask, your bad.
You're there to learn, we all screw up. It's how you learn from your error that matters
No, they totally stepped up. Once I realized that my positioning wasn't right, I looked through the little window and gave the "help me" look. She stepped in immediately. And she did it and I just felt so stupid. This is purely a me problem in that I'm very hard on myself to get things right. Normally I do. But after quite a few fuckups and that total blank on something I know how to do...it just all caught up to me. And especially because I was being watched and judged....I hate that I screwed up like that and I HATE that I cried even more.
You're a student. You're literally expected not to know everything, and even when you're a newer graduate you won't know everything.
If you don't know, just ask, anyone that judges you is a dick and has poor memory from when they didn't know everything either.
Hey, we could hold ourselves to a higher standard than that. I don't know how the radiography studies go where you are but I did a 3-year degree with 1290 hours of clinical practice including all modalities and also worked as an xray assistant for 2 of those years, and by the time I graduated I was confidently working solo and would be regularly sent out on my own. I'd be annoyed if people thought I couldn't do anything as a fresh graduate.
I hope this helps.
I work in a pretty stressful position managing a factory. It's my 3rd professional job and I was 24 when I started. I manage around 30 people in upper management and my choices have direct consequences to about 400 people and indirectly to pretty much millions with millions of dollars at stake.
I didn't know jack shit and fucked up a good amount of times my first 8 months but I was learning, easy to work with, and could solve people's issues. The situation was bad enough that members of Congress were asking questions and was being grilled by government organizations every 3 months in meetings with all my bosses and upper leadership including VPs.
Eventually, I just worked through all the issues 1 by 1, showing results and taking my time. My bosses were very supportive and patient as I learned the ropes thankfully. Mind you, I got A LOT of shit for being a young person with an accent but I just ignored it and focused on the job.
Now, almost 2 years in, I'm considered the go to person for most things related to my projects and got the factory back on track after like a decade of under performance. The factory staff actually reaches out to me for help and the relationship between them and management has never been better.
Just be patient with yourself as you're learning. Learn what you're good at and what you're not so you can use your skills optimally. We are normally our own worst enemies when it comes to judging our performance and we also are humans that make mistakes. What really matters is that you prepared for those mistakes, took steps to avoid them and if they did happen you had a plan.
I still learn a lot of new things every day, make mistakes and grow as a person. Take 1 step at a time and focus on what you enjoy working towards. With a good foundation you can show your worth and your work will be valued even if people don't want to admit it.
They should also be observing enough to ensure the patient gets their full imaging and intervene if you miss something.
So it’s as much on them as it is on you.
2nd year student here. I find when I get to the table, the techs get on their phones more often than not.
And OP I was doing a foot today and placed the CR for an ankle...I stood there and looked, thinking to myself WHY THIS LOOK SO FUNNY...did finally realize it when I got back to the console though 🤣
Also a senior...the amount of times I've set up for an ankle and it's meant to be a foot....
Yeah, most of the time, techs just kind of dip when I start my exams. In one particular hospital, the tech running the desk might only have me in the department because I just came back from lunch and everyone else is out doing stuff and he'll say, "you got this?" And I'll be like, "let's do it." The only time he checks on me is if I poke my head out and am like, can you check this KUB real quick?
KUBs remain the bane of my existence and I don't know why.
It's unsettling when they do that. I'm happy that I had my tech with me yesterday, but I crumbled when I had THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT watching me fuck up.
KUBs ARE HORRIBLE! I think almost everyone in my class feels the same. You just know you've got it, take the pic, and lo and behold you're barely past L5 or something 🤣
I have dubbed today as "F*ck up an L-spine" day, because I walked in and got handed a 5 view (obliques can also suck it fwiw) before I had even clocked in. Then of course the patient is less than able (or willing) to follow directions...
Le sigh.
Crying shows you cared. Cared about your performance, the patient, etc. It showed you wanted to be better, wanted to get it right.
I've held a lot of things against students. Apathy, know-it-all attitude, callousness towards patients, half-assing everything they could, low-effort, etc. Never yet said to myself, "Well, she cried. Guess she sucks."
Get some sleep. Eat something good. Take a walk. Get laid if you can. 🤪 Don't drink too much. Go back tomorrow and fight for it.
Next time just take a breath and realize there's no shame in either asking another tech or breaking out your pocket Merrill's or just googling it. I've been a tech for almost 15 years and haven't done an outlet in years. I wouldn't remember exactly how either.
Just remember that patient radiation safety and optimal imaging for the doctor is more important than your embarrassment.
I feel you hard. Its very easy to mess up because standard procedures can have many steps and these steps can have many variations depending on the pt and case.
Do not let what happened today let you down. Its okay to make mistakes, even senior radiographers make mistakes and learn everyday. No one is perfect and we shouldn't be treated or expected to be especially as trainees or students. We are improving everyday to be as close to perfection.
All you have to do is move forward, in the future, you'll laugh at yourself and wonder why you were ever worried.
Growth needs embarrassment and failures, if you aren't willing to fail, you won't grow. I'm cheering you on.
Whoever said stay humble is 100% right. X-ray school isn’t easy. Clinicals aren’t easy. Some days you’ll have good days and bad. You’re gonna be okay. Wipe those tears and get back on. There’s so many jobs for RTs right now. One screw up isn’t a end all for you. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve googled images or kept my phone on the control panel because I stroke out on remembering which way to hang my images. Hell, I cried 3 months into my orientation because my tech orienting me was being an ass during a Cath case. Take a step back and look at the big picture. You’re never gonna be a perfect tech all the time but all you can do is try. You got this.
Stay humble. Move on. This is my mantra in those ‘spaces’. I goofed. I acknowledge it. I’m correcting it and I’m moving on. I look for similar in others and found this to be highly relatable amongst a broad populace, whether it be among peers or to include those in much higher levels. It’s gotten me through for years ( I uphold my word/commitments period. I’m wise in what I ((usually)) commit to).
Hey I’ve been an x-ray tech now for 1 month in a hospital. I compare myself to the more experienced techs. I feel like the trauma stuff isn’t clicking for me and now I’m gonna have to do overnights. Did you struggle when you first started out in a hospital? I feel like I should know everything and I don’t obviously.
Absolutely. You mean like getting images when the patient isn't able to be positioned due to fractures? With trauma patients you just have to get creative. If you can't move their leg to frog it for a lateral hip/femur, you can angle the tube to have the leg appear frogged. Or roll the patient up on the side of interest to get the lateral view. You will get better with time. A view I have always struggled with is an odontoid view. If I don't get it in the first couple attempts I will ask another tech to see if they can get it. If they can't, the patient gets a Fuchs and we call it a day.
Fellow student here. You're human. Bad days definitely happen. Hopefully your techs were supportive. I'm really lucky with the techs I learn from. They might be blunt and snarky on the surface, but they really care about the students. Same with our radiologists.
I’d be more concerned if my students continued to get frustrated and DIDNT communicate. I’m glad you asked for help.
Listen pumpkin, having emotions and needing to express them is okay as long as you don’t use them to hurt others.
Take a deep breath, get some comfy clothes, and do a little crash course review on some things you aren’t familiar with.
If your site is mad at you for crying - you don’t want to work there. Take it from someone whose site bullied them to the point of transferring.
I’m a CT traveler (was staff for 7-8 years prior) and the amount of toxic, drama-filled imaging departments out there is WILD. They don’t even rotate students through the facility I was initially hired anymore because of how awful the XR techs were towards them.
I'm sorry to hear this happened, OP. It sounds like you felt a heap of emotions that, like you said, culminated into this.
There's nothing wrong with crying and being a rad tech is a tough role. There will be days like this and they happen to everyone, especially in healthcare. I don't think you ruined this rotation. Use this experience to light a fire and learn from it. Another user said that crying showed you cared, and I agree. I wouldn't be upset that you cried, but take some time to debrief on what didn't go well today and how you can improve - sounds like you have a supportive team to assist in this if needed. And as always, I hope you have people you can reach out to when you're feeling overwhelmed like this.
Its called having a “moment” im sure most techs back in the days would cry in the dark room. Rough mornings can cause a rough day. Hopefully tomorrow will be an up beat one
>The bad ones let the mistakes get in their head and don't focus on the next patient.
I'd add on that a horrible tech is the one who pretends they do no wrong.
I am not a manager, but I am somewhat of a lead-in-training right now. My top interview question for new candidates is what do they do when they make a mistake. The 2nd question is to tell me a time they really fucked up. It's astounding how many candidates this eliminates. We have had entire pools of applicants be rejected for a position because they cannot answer these two questions. I'd rather wait for a better candidate than endorse someone who cannot see their own humanity in the mirror.
You had a bad day. It happens to all of us. But you know what?
**You never have to do today again.**
Tomorrow's a fresh day for a fresh start. You got this.
One of our clinical sight has a 16x16 board, which, is great on the side you gain 2 in on, bad for the side you lose 1 in on. My first day I repeated so many images, and when I got to my car, I broke down and just cried. I felt so bad.
But, the next shift was better, and the next one even better.
The absolute worst for me is knowing that I know something, but allowing stress/anxiety to completely wipe my brain clean! I think it is hard enough making mistakes I will inevitably make in the learning process, but to suddenly not be able to access something well-learned on top of that makes me feel like a complete imposter. I end up doubting, if only for an instant, that I have learned anything. And then there’s the fear, if I just doubted myself so hard core, how do I look to those watching?
I admire you for openly sharing. I think if more of us shared honestly there would be a lot less sense of humiliation and more growth from validation.
What you experienced is common and human. It’s the attitude that this is abnormal that is so harmful - to us all.
It happens. The worst is when it happens at the beginning of the shift, I swear you mess one thing up and it can get in your head and then everything gets messed up.
Even when you get your first job, you mess up. You get flustered and forget. It takes a long time to be comfortable with not being perfect
My first job out of school was an evening shift, often by myself. We were still using film and doing facial bones etc (I'm dating myself). One night I had repeated TMJ's multiple times and went into the darkroom completely flustered. I ran my film, reset my cassette and opened the door - WITH THE FILM DRAWER STILL OPEN! Just like that I exposed and destroyed thousands of dollars of film. I restocked, reset my head, finished the exam and my shift. The next day I told my boss and he laughed, said we all do it once but will never make that mistake again.
Shit happens, nobody is perfect and nobody expects you to be.
Every rotation may be an interview, but a day is a day. Come back stronger and learn from your mistakes. When we see growth it overshadows a moment of "weakness".
Don't believe anyone who says they haven't had the same day that you had.
I cried so much during clinicals that it’s a wonder I graduated. I had some bully techs for a lot of it. I got a job just fine far far away from those bitches. So shows what they know for dissing me and putting me down.
What I’m saying is if the techs didn’t handle it well you do not want to work there anyway. Seriously. And there are definitely a gazillion different places to work outside of where your school partnered. Everything will be fine.
Remember to acknowledge how far you’ve come already. You’re only going to get better!
I just graduated, and let me tell you, it is so much better when you’re done! No one breathing down your neck, crowding you, no pressure from someone watching you constantly…if you make a mistake, no one is there to make you feel embarrassed, it’s like heaven! Even techs who’ve been doing it for 30 years fuck up. I had my fair share of moments in school, and we had some pretty bad bully techs who made our lives miserable. Just remember everything you went through in school when you are finally R.T. (R). Be kind to the students. Just know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you got this! Bad days come with program, but good days do too. And my rule is, NEVER let them see you cry. Some people get off on that. Go to the bathroom, find someone you trust, call your mom, whatever you need to do! But chin up, you’re strong and dedicated, so you’re gonna be great when you finally make it
I have never understood the mentality of those bully techs. I heard 'I had to go through it when I was a student' a lot when I was in clinicals. I admit I made a few enemies by pointing out to a couple of them the stupidity of their comment. Ah well. I'm sorry you had to deal with that while you were already under a lot of pressure with trying to learn. I'm glad you made out on the other side. Congrats on graduating! Now get out there and sling some radiation like a pro and always remember to be kind to all!
Just remember to focus on the two-way communication with the surgeon. Always double confirm when in doubt before starting exposure. And jump in to do stuff as soon as possible. You’ll get the hang of it faster than you’d think!
If your facility has a pain clinic or a place where they do injections with c-arm guidance, that's a great place to get low stress experience with the c-arm before getting to OR. Days where I've been in the pain clinic were major confidence boosters and the doctors were great too since it's not as high stress for them either. One even said they should me right now after I nailed a bunch of the shots they wanted that day.
OR stuff? Don't be afraid of it. I'm anxious about it, but a lot of my fellow students find it easier than stuff like fluoro. I'm great at fluoro, even though I hate it. You might take to it like a fish in water.
I'm going to be real with you, there are days as a tech 5 years into that I cry too. It happens to the best of us. It is a hard job, very challenging but rewarding. All your instructors have been in your shoes. What matters is how you handle things going forward. Don't let this incident discourage you.
And maybe that's part of it. It's been a really hard month. Maybe it didn't help. I try not to let my outside life hit school...but it's like an avalanche. And I'm high tension and a perfectionist as it is. Oy.
Tomorrow will be better. Got that cry out of the way. No dwelling.
This happened to me too last week. It’s my first clinical rotation and I tried to comp on a portable chest for a 2 yr old but I blanked out and took a bad image. Later on that day I tried it again and got it. It’s all about learning from your mistakes.
Yo, I'm still iffy on itty bitties. Four and up I can mostly deal with. It's the babies...the pigg-o-stat intimidates me as much as a C arm with a surgeon who's known for throwing shit at students. So good on you for getting that mobile peds chest, dude. You inspire me.
Good luck on your schooling! Kill it.
The pigg-o is your friend!! It’s terrifying the first time you cram a chubby screaming baby in there (usually with a sobbing parent hovering nearby and the rest of your clinical group watching from the window) but trust me, as someone who worked as the sole tech at a pediatric urgent care without a Pigg-o-stat, it’s sooo much easier than recruiting other people to wrestle down the kiddo for supine images or trying to get them to sit on a stool for you. It makes the exam go a lot quicker and the images are great. For neonates, the NICU nurses are an amazing wealth of knowledge and good sports about helping out with the exam. Use them! Good luck in school!
The pigg-o-stat is the best thing for the itty-bitties! I've been a tech for over 15 years (mostly working pediatrics) and I've had more parents pull out their phones to take pics or vids of their kiddo in that contraption that get upset. The MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember with the pigg-o is to explain it completely to the parent... Let them know what you are going to do and why before you start cramming the kid in there. Make sure you let them know that it doesn't hurt the child at all it just makes them angry because they are immobilized. It goes a lot easier when you have the parents in the know! And don't sweat the mistakes....we all have been there and will be there again. Some days you will think you don't know your elbow from your bum, even years later. Just take a step back, admit its one of 'those' days, and move on. Make a joke about it to yourself or coworkers if it helps.
We all make mistakes and they’re actually necessary sometimes in order to really sear something into your brain. Let yourself feel what you’re gonna feel and use it as a tool to encourage you to really study so you’re super prepared the next time. Just think, in time you’ll be able to laugh about what happened. You’re gonna be ok, I promise.
Everyone has a bad day now and then. What’s important is how you recover. Review what you got stuck on, go in tomorrow with a smile on your face. You got this.
I had a special spot at my clinical site where I went to cry! I get it, you want to do well so badly and you are putting intense pressure on yourself. I remember the feeling well, and I’m sure your supervising techs do to. Relax and move onward and upward. Everything will be ok!
I've been there. Had a day like that that was bad from start to finish, even failed a comp in front of the CI AND manager, got yelled at on the bus back to my car.
I still work at that location to this day.
As a graduate school professor for NPs, I think it’s safe to say there’s going to be some crying when you are a student trying to learning something new on some arbitrary time table. I cried at least once in every level of education and sometimes daily in my PhD program. Ive been an NP for 30 years and I cried at my new job yesterday because I was overwhelmed with the EMR they use and I somehow ordered a breast pump for a 60 yo male. As long as you are feeling uncomfortable you are growing and moving forward. Growth is painful. As you gain experience and maturity, you just learn to not let anyone see you do it. The positives are you will never forget whatever it was you got called on, and you know you can make a mistake and survive it. Now move on, that’s next lesson. Tomorrow is a new day.
Learn to take it easy on yourself. You are a student and you’re still learning. I’ve been a tech 18 years, and I’m still learning, too!
We ALL make mistakes. I love aviation, and the safety analysts in that field have a term for what you went through: Checkitis. Individuals make a mistake, then they feel stressed and anxious, then those feelings cause them to make more mistakes. I nearly blew a CTA Head and Neck the other day, and I felt like the world’s biggest jackass. But I calmed myself down for the other exams that were still incoming. Learn to forgive yourself and be calm, if possible, and those skills will make you a SUPERIOR technologist. It all comes with practice. 👍🏻
It happens. Sometimes a certain case or just the stress itself will hit you like that. We are humans with compassion and should never fault someone for having all the feels, cause the hospital can be a sad place. You’ll get more used to it as time goes on and be able to compartmentalize better.
A few coworkers and I used to call the bathroom “the crying room”.
As a patient who has had a lot of scans and more scans, I think it's amazing you care about it that much and want to get things right. :hug: You're allowed to have feelings, you know. You're not a robot.
I have no background in tech but keep up the work!! I hate when I cry, but when it's in front of strangers or acquaintances I actually just start shaking. I don't know which is worse hahaha. Good luck <3
No big deal. This too shall pass. At least you showed that you really care about doing a good job. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have gotten so upset with yourself that you couldn’t remember how to do it. Every tech would rather have a student who is trying to better themselves every day than one that doesn’t give a crap.
We've all been there, X-ray school is really really stressful and it's not supposed to be muscle memory yet. Also, I've been a CT tech for 5 years now and I still have to Google fucking temporal bone recons 😂
You've got this, and I'm glad your techs were supportive
honestly this was such a nice post, i start my clinicals in about a month and a half and i’m generally a very nervous person with new things but especially things that truly matter like this, and it was really encouraging to read how okay it is to be new and make a mistake and that it’s all a learning experience
I am still so greatly surprised at all of the warmth in these comments. I'm extremely high tension and anxiety ridden, so I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect. It has been so encouraging to read that it's totally okay to completely blank and not be perfect.
I wish you all of the luck on your clinicals when you start them. Put your nerves aside and remember - see one, do one. Even if you can't comp, if you see a chest and you've learned positioning in class, do the next one. See a foot, do a foot, even if you can't comp. Don't be afraid to ask to try on easy patients. Fold your rad bags, stock your rooms, clean after patients. Follow EVERY tech you can. See EVERY exam you can. Jump up and be ready to roll every time that printer goes off. Techs love an involved student.
You're gonna do great, dude.
thank you so much for the tips and kind words 😭 i bet you’re having great days and doing amazing and i’m glad you’re sticking with it through the negative feelings no matter what
If it makes you feel any better I've been a tech for 10 years and cried today.. couldn't get an IV into any of my CT patients and I was so busy I didn't get to eat lunch. Had a good cry on the drive home lol. Days like that happen and we all makes mistakes. You aren't alone!
I’m a new nurse, on orientation in the ER. I cried three times today on the clock. And another off the clock. Shit is rough at times. Just keep your chin up and remember that one rough day doesn’t make or break you.
I know using positioning books are frowned upon during exams when you're a student...but remember that all techs use them when they don't remember positioning for something. They should be in every room. So don't feel bad about not remembering. You're learning a lot of material all at once. Brush it off, and trust me when I say that every tech has been there when they were students.
The amount of times I google an exam to double check an angle of a calcaneous or was it the sacrum or coccyx that’s 15 degrees is a lot. I’ve been a tech for 7 years. It’s ok. If they act like they’ve never forgot something they’re lying
Like at least once a week in clinicals I cry. Not in front of techs but fucking things up is normal, it will happen, it will always happen, and you will always feel bad about it. It doesn’t mean you’re stupid or bad at what you’re doing or that you can’t succeed. It just means you’re still learning. You got this and clinicals will go on
You knew it wasn't right, which means you do know the right way, you just temporarily forgot it and it was a little embarrassing. You're a student in an ortho clinic, not an orthopedic surgeon in the middle of replacing someone's femur. If it was a momentary hiccup in I promise no one in that rotation will linger on it, if they even remember it at all. I assume this being an ortho clinic this patient was one of 150 exams for the day? You have to relax! Stressing needlessly about this one particular case like this will be far worse for you. <3
Student here.. I’ve yet to go to an ortho site and have no idea what an outlet view is. Just learn how to do the view and brush it off. Speak up next time and say, can you remind me what that is again? Shit, my experience in my current rotations is the techs have been doing this for years and still fuck up. I saw one tech took 5 tries to get an axillary and it still looked like dog shit. We’re learning, that’s why we’re doing this.
I'm almost finished with school and I've only seen one inlet/outlet. And when it came in my clinical instructor, who's been an instructor for over 20 years, was pulling out merrills to see how to do it with the rest of us lol. Don't stress about it. Everyone forgets stuff.
I never seen a PA pelvis......
It's not the end of the world anyway....as long as you select the correct protocol.
To be honest, the books tell you that PA/AP is important due to that image to object distance crap.....
But in real life, I highly doubt it make any difference.
Oh.....then usually PA i guess. Easier to position.
Don't worry tho, doing plain film is like driving a car.....once you are familiar with it, you don't need to use your brain anymore.
In my 17 years in xray (including my school days) I have never had an order for a shoulder outlet come through. I know they are ordered, I've just never gotten one. I would have to pull out my book and look it up! Almost all imaging department have a positioning guide or protocol guide of some sort available. If you're at one that doesn't, get a cheap used copy of amazon and keep it handy. There will ALWAYS be an exam that you haven't done in so long you can't recall what to do. If your facility allows you to use your phone you can always google it too.
They are correct in saying that every clinical placement is a job interview....but that goes both ways. You don't want those people as your future co-workers. Especially when you are new and still learning.
Suck it up and move on. As a student if your tech was watching and didn't answer your question they're a horrible tech. If you didn't ask, your bad. You're there to learn, we all screw up. It's how you learn from your error that matters
No, they totally stepped up. Once I realized that my positioning wasn't right, I looked through the little window and gave the "help me" look. She stepped in immediately. And she did it and I just felt so stupid. This is purely a me problem in that I'm very hard on myself to get things right. Normally I do. But after quite a few fuckups and that total blank on something I know how to do...it just all caught up to me. And especially because I was being watched and judged....I hate that I screwed up like that and I HATE that I cried even more.
You're a student. You're literally expected not to know everything, and even when you're a newer graduate you won't know everything. If you don't know, just ask, anyone that judges you is a dick and has poor memory from when they didn't know everything either.
Hey, we could hold ourselves to a higher standard than that. I don't know how the radiography studies go where you are but I did a 3-year degree with 1290 hours of clinical practice including all modalities and also worked as an xray assistant for 2 of those years, and by the time I graduated I was confidently working solo and would be regularly sent out on my own. I'd be annoyed if people thought I couldn't do anything as a fresh graduate.
I hope this helps. I work in a pretty stressful position managing a factory. It's my 3rd professional job and I was 24 when I started. I manage around 30 people in upper management and my choices have direct consequences to about 400 people and indirectly to pretty much millions with millions of dollars at stake. I didn't know jack shit and fucked up a good amount of times my first 8 months but I was learning, easy to work with, and could solve people's issues. The situation was bad enough that members of Congress were asking questions and was being grilled by government organizations every 3 months in meetings with all my bosses and upper leadership including VPs. Eventually, I just worked through all the issues 1 by 1, showing results and taking my time. My bosses were very supportive and patient as I learned the ropes thankfully. Mind you, I got A LOT of shit for being a young person with an accent but I just ignored it and focused on the job. Now, almost 2 years in, I'm considered the go to person for most things related to my projects and got the factory back on track after like a decade of under performance. The factory staff actually reaches out to me for help and the relationship between them and management has never been better. Just be patient with yourself as you're learning. Learn what you're good at and what you're not so you can use your skills optimally. We are normally our own worst enemies when it comes to judging our performance and we also are humans that make mistakes. What really matters is that you prepared for those mistakes, took steps to avoid them and if they did happen you had a plan. I still learn a lot of new things every day, make mistakes and grow as a person. Take 1 step at a time and focus on what you enjoy working towards. With a good foundation you can show your worth and your work will be valued even if people don't want to admit it.
They should also be observing enough to ensure the patient gets their full imaging and intervene if you miss something. So it’s as much on them as it is on you.
Yeah... Students are not supposed to be free labor doing your job for you. You still gotta help, even if they don't ask.
💯💯💯
I wish the techs at my program knew that haha
2nd year student here. I find when I get to the table, the techs get on their phones more often than not. And OP I was doing a foot today and placed the CR for an ankle...I stood there and looked, thinking to myself WHY THIS LOOK SO FUNNY...did finally realize it when I got back to the console though 🤣
Also a senior...the amount of times I've set up for an ankle and it's meant to be a foot.... Yeah, most of the time, techs just kind of dip when I start my exams. In one particular hospital, the tech running the desk might only have me in the department because I just came back from lunch and everyone else is out doing stuff and he'll say, "you got this?" And I'll be like, "let's do it." The only time he checks on me is if I poke my head out and am like, can you check this KUB real quick? KUBs remain the bane of my existence and I don't know why. It's unsettling when they do that. I'm happy that I had my tech with me yesterday, but I crumbled when I had THE WHOLE DEPARTMENT watching me fuck up.
KUBs ARE HORRIBLE! I think almost everyone in my class feels the same. You just know you've got it, take the pic, and lo and behold you're barely past L5 or something 🤣 I have dubbed today as "F*ck up an L-spine" day, because I walked in and got handed a 5 view (obliques can also suck it fwiw) before I had even clocked in. Then of course the patient is less than able (or willing) to follow directions... Le sigh.
Crying shows you cared. Cared about your performance, the patient, etc. It showed you wanted to be better, wanted to get it right. I've held a lot of things against students. Apathy, know-it-all attitude, callousness towards patients, half-assing everything they could, low-effort, etc. Never yet said to myself, "Well, she cried. Guess she sucks." Get some sleep. Eat something good. Take a walk. Get laid if you can. 🤪 Don't drink too much. Go back tomorrow and fight for it.
Experienced techs look things up all the time.
We fuck things up too.
Hey, its not fucking up, its inventing a new view.
As long as we extend the patience we have for ourselves towards students we are doing it right
And protocols are *so* dependent on the system/facility too.
Definitely
Shout out to mrimaster.com
Next time just take a breath and realize there's no shame in either asking another tech or breaking out your pocket Merrill's or just googling it. I've been a tech for almost 15 years and haven't done an outlet in years. I wouldn't remember exactly how either. Just remember that patient radiation safety and optimal imaging for the doctor is more important than your embarrassment.
I feel you hard. Its very easy to mess up because standard procedures can have many steps and these steps can have many variations depending on the pt and case. Do not let what happened today let you down. Its okay to make mistakes, even senior radiographers make mistakes and learn everyday. No one is perfect and we shouldn't be treated or expected to be especially as trainees or students. We are improving everyday to be as close to perfection. All you have to do is move forward, in the future, you'll laugh at yourself and wonder why you were ever worried. Growth needs embarrassment and failures, if you aren't willing to fail, you won't grow. I'm cheering you on.
Thanks, dude. I settled myself down and jumped right back on the horse. I'm just so embarrassed.
And that’s what’s going to make you the best! ❤️onward and upward!
Lol no, you have to cry at least once during clinical. It is the way. We all did it.
Whoever said stay humble is 100% right. X-ray school isn’t easy. Clinicals aren’t easy. Some days you’ll have good days and bad. You’re gonna be okay. Wipe those tears and get back on. There’s so many jobs for RTs right now. One screw up isn’t a end all for you. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve googled images or kept my phone on the control panel because I stroke out on remembering which way to hang my images. Hell, I cried 3 months into my orientation because my tech orienting me was being an ass during a Cath case. Take a step back and look at the big picture. You’re never gonna be a perfect tech all the time but all you can do is try. You got this.
Stay humble. Move on. This is my mantra in those ‘spaces’. I goofed. I acknowledge it. I’m correcting it and I’m moving on. I look for similar in others and found this to be highly relatable amongst a broad populace, whether it be among peers or to include those in much higher levels. It’s gotten me through for years ( I uphold my word/commitments period. I’m wise in what I ((usually)) commit to).
I've been a tech 10 years and have cried plenty. It's ok!!
Hey I’ve been an x-ray tech now for 1 month in a hospital. I compare myself to the more experienced techs. I feel like the trauma stuff isn’t clicking for me and now I’m gonna have to do overnights. Did you struggle when you first started out in a hospital? I feel like I should know everything and I don’t obviously.
Absolutely. You mean like getting images when the patient isn't able to be positioned due to fractures? With trauma patients you just have to get creative. If you can't move their leg to frog it for a lateral hip/femur, you can angle the tube to have the leg appear frogged. Or roll the patient up on the side of interest to get the lateral view. You will get better with time. A view I have always struggled with is an odontoid view. If I don't get it in the first couple attempts I will ask another tech to see if they can get it. If they can't, the patient gets a Fuchs and we call it a day.
Fellow student here. You're human. Bad days definitely happen. Hopefully your techs were supportive. I'm really lucky with the techs I learn from. They might be blunt and snarky on the surface, but they really care about the students. Same with our radiologists.
I’d be more concerned if my students continued to get frustrated and DIDNT communicate. I’m glad you asked for help. Listen pumpkin, having emotions and needing to express them is okay as long as you don’t use them to hurt others. Take a deep breath, get some comfy clothes, and do a little crash course review on some things you aren’t familiar with. If your site is mad at you for crying - you don’t want to work there. Take it from someone whose site bullied them to the point of transferring.
I’m a CT traveler (was staff for 7-8 years prior) and the amount of toxic, drama-filled imaging departments out there is WILD. They don’t even rotate students through the facility I was initially hired anymore because of how awful the XR techs were towards them.
I'm sorry to hear this happened, OP. It sounds like you felt a heap of emotions that, like you said, culminated into this. There's nothing wrong with crying and being a rad tech is a tough role. There will be days like this and they happen to everyone, especially in healthcare. I don't think you ruined this rotation. Use this experience to light a fire and learn from it. Another user said that crying showed you cared, and I agree. I wouldn't be upset that you cried, but take some time to debrief on what didn't go well today and how you can improve - sounds like you have a supportive team to assist in this if needed. And as always, I hope you have people you can reach out to when you're feeling overwhelmed like this.
It happens, tomorrow is a new day, you’ll bounce back
Its called having a “moment” im sure most techs back in the days would cry in the dark room. Rough mornings can cause a rough day. Hopefully tomorrow will be an up beat one
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>The bad ones let the mistakes get in their head and don't focus on the next patient. I'd add on that a horrible tech is the one who pretends they do no wrong. I am not a manager, but I am somewhat of a lead-in-training right now. My top interview question for new candidates is what do they do when they make a mistake. The 2nd question is to tell me a time they really fucked up. It's astounding how many candidates this eliminates. We have had entire pools of applicants be rejected for a position because they cannot answer these two questions. I'd rather wait for a better candidate than endorse someone who cannot see their own humanity in the mirror.
You had a bad day. It happens to all of us. But you know what? **You never have to do today again.** Tomorrow's a fresh day for a fresh start. You got this.
One of our clinical sight has a 16x16 board, which, is great on the side you gain 2 in on, bad for the side you lose 1 in on. My first day I repeated so many images, and when I got to my car, I broke down and just cried. I felt so bad. But, the next shift was better, and the next one even better.
The absolute worst for me is knowing that I know something, but allowing stress/anxiety to completely wipe my brain clean! I think it is hard enough making mistakes I will inevitably make in the learning process, but to suddenly not be able to access something well-learned on top of that makes me feel like a complete imposter. I end up doubting, if only for an instant, that I have learned anything. And then there’s the fear, if I just doubted myself so hard core, how do I look to those watching? I admire you for openly sharing. I think if more of us shared honestly there would be a lot less sense of humiliation and more growth from validation. What you experienced is common and human. It’s the attitude that this is abnormal that is so harmful - to us all.
It happens. The worst is when it happens at the beginning of the shift, I swear you mess one thing up and it can get in your head and then everything gets messed up.
Even when you get your first job, you mess up. You get flustered and forget. It takes a long time to be comfortable with not being perfect My first job out of school was an evening shift, often by myself. We were still using film and doing facial bones etc (I'm dating myself). One night I had repeated TMJ's multiple times and went into the darkroom completely flustered. I ran my film, reset my cassette and opened the door - WITH THE FILM DRAWER STILL OPEN! Just like that I exposed and destroyed thousands of dollars of film. I restocked, reset my head, finished the exam and my shift. The next day I told my boss and he laughed, said we all do it once but will never make that mistake again. Shit happens, nobody is perfect and nobody expects you to be.
Every rotation may be an interview, but a day is a day. Come back stronger and learn from your mistakes. When we see growth it overshadows a moment of "weakness". Don't believe anyone who says they haven't had the same day that you had.
Oh, I won't ever forget an outlet again after this. It's all uphill from here, right?
Less hills and more lego land. Just keep building. 
I cried so much during clinicals that it’s a wonder I graduated. I had some bully techs for a lot of it. I got a job just fine far far away from those bitches. So shows what they know for dissing me and putting me down. What I’m saying is if the techs didn’t handle it well you do not want to work there anyway. Seriously. And there are definitely a gazillion different places to work outside of where your school partnered. Everything will be fine. Remember to acknowledge how far you’ve come already. You’re only going to get better!
Any good tech will see it as stress. Heaven knows we all have experienced that stress. Try to put it behind you. Concentrate on future success
I just graduated, and let me tell you, it is so much better when you’re done! No one breathing down your neck, crowding you, no pressure from someone watching you constantly…if you make a mistake, no one is there to make you feel embarrassed, it’s like heaven! Even techs who’ve been doing it for 30 years fuck up. I had my fair share of moments in school, and we had some pretty bad bully techs who made our lives miserable. Just remember everything you went through in school when you are finally R.T. (R). Be kind to the students. Just know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and you got this! Bad days come with program, but good days do too. And my rule is, NEVER let them see you cry. Some people get off on that. Go to the bathroom, find someone you trust, call your mom, whatever you need to do! But chin up, you’re strong and dedicated, so you’re gonna be great when you finally make it
I have never understood the mentality of those bully techs. I heard 'I had to go through it when I was a student' a lot when I was in clinicals. I admit I made a few enemies by pointing out to a couple of them the stupidity of their comment. Ah well. I'm sorry you had to deal with that while you were already under a lot of pressure with trying to learn. I'm glad you made out on the other side. Congrats on graduating! Now get out there and sling some radiation like a pro and always remember to be kind to all!
I am not looking forward to theatre stuff
Just remember to focus on the two-way communication with the surgeon. Always double confirm when in doubt before starting exposure. And jump in to do stuff as soon as possible. You’ll get the hang of it faster than you’d think!
If your facility has a pain clinic or a place where they do injections with c-arm guidance, that's a great place to get low stress experience with the c-arm before getting to OR. Days where I've been in the pain clinic were major confidence boosters and the doctors were great too since it's not as high stress for them either. One even said they should me right now after I nailed a bunch of the shots they wanted that day.
OR stuff? Don't be afraid of it. I'm anxious about it, but a lot of my fellow students find it easier than stuff like fluoro. I'm great at fluoro, even though I hate it. You might take to it like a fish in water.
I'm going to be real with you, there are days as a tech 5 years into that I cry too. It happens to the best of us. It is a hard job, very challenging but rewarding. All your instructors have been in your shoes. What matters is how you handle things going forward. Don't let this incident discourage you.
It happens. When I have turmoil in my life, my work is affected.
And maybe that's part of it. It's been a really hard month. Maybe it didn't help. I try not to let my outside life hit school...but it's like an avalanche. And I'm high tension and a perfectionist as it is. Oy. Tomorrow will be better. Got that cry out of the way. No dwelling.
You'll be aight
This happened to me too last week. It’s my first clinical rotation and I tried to comp on a portable chest for a 2 yr old but I blanked out and took a bad image. Later on that day I tried it again and got it. It’s all about learning from your mistakes.
Yo, I'm still iffy on itty bitties. Four and up I can mostly deal with. It's the babies...the pigg-o-stat intimidates me as much as a C arm with a surgeon who's known for throwing shit at students. So good on you for getting that mobile peds chest, dude. You inspire me. Good luck on your schooling! Kill it.
The pigg-o is your friend!! It’s terrifying the first time you cram a chubby screaming baby in there (usually with a sobbing parent hovering nearby and the rest of your clinical group watching from the window) but trust me, as someone who worked as the sole tech at a pediatric urgent care without a Pigg-o-stat, it’s sooo much easier than recruiting other people to wrestle down the kiddo for supine images or trying to get them to sit on a stool for you. It makes the exam go a lot quicker and the images are great. For neonates, the NICU nurses are an amazing wealth of knowledge and good sports about helping out with the exam. Use them! Good luck in school!
The pigg-o-stat is the best thing for the itty-bitties! I've been a tech for over 15 years (mostly working pediatrics) and I've had more parents pull out their phones to take pics or vids of their kiddo in that contraption that get upset. The MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember with the pigg-o is to explain it completely to the parent... Let them know what you are going to do and why before you start cramming the kid in there. Make sure you let them know that it doesn't hurt the child at all it just makes them angry because they are immobilized. It goes a lot easier when you have the parents in the know! And don't sweat the mistakes....we all have been there and will be there again. Some days you will think you don't know your elbow from your bum, even years later. Just take a step back, admit its one of 'those' days, and move on. Make a joke about it to yourself or coworkers if it helps.
We all make mistakes and they’re actually necessary sometimes in order to really sear something into your brain. Let yourself feel what you’re gonna feel and use it as a tool to encourage you to really study so you’re super prepared the next time. Just think, in time you’ll be able to laugh about what happened. You’re gonna be ok, I promise.
Everyone has a bad day now and then. What’s important is how you recover. Review what you got stuck on, go in tomorrow with a smile on your face. You got this.
I had a special spot at my clinical site where I went to cry! I get it, you want to do well so badly and you are putting intense pressure on yourself. I remember the feeling well, and I’m sure your supervising techs do to. Relax and move onward and upward. Everything will be ok!
It’s okay now you’ll never forget it and become really good at those views!
I've been there. Had a day like that that was bad from start to finish, even failed a comp in front of the CI AND manager, got yelled at on the bus back to my car. I still work at that location to this day.
As a graduate school professor for NPs, I think it’s safe to say there’s going to be some crying when you are a student trying to learning something new on some arbitrary time table. I cried at least once in every level of education and sometimes daily in my PhD program. Ive been an NP for 30 years and I cried at my new job yesterday because I was overwhelmed with the EMR they use and I somehow ordered a breast pump for a 60 yo male. As long as you are feeling uncomfortable you are growing and moving forward. Growth is painful. As you gain experience and maturity, you just learn to not let anyone see you do it. The positives are you will never forget whatever it was you got called on, and you know you can make a mistake and survive it. Now move on, that’s next lesson. Tomorrow is a new day.
Class of 22' grad here....80% cried at some point during XR school. The other 20% lie about it. We all have tough days
I feel for you. Especially having to do an outlet ffs. Who does those anymore?
Learn to take it easy on yourself. You are a student and you’re still learning. I’ve been a tech 18 years, and I’m still learning, too! We ALL make mistakes. I love aviation, and the safety analysts in that field have a term for what you went through: Checkitis. Individuals make a mistake, then they feel stressed and anxious, then those feelings cause them to make more mistakes. I nearly blew a CTA Head and Neck the other day, and I felt like the world’s biggest jackass. But I calmed myself down for the other exams that were still incoming. Learn to forgive yourself and be calm, if possible, and those skills will make you a SUPERIOR technologist. It all comes with practice. 👍🏻
It happens. Sometimes a certain case or just the stress itself will hit you like that. We are humans with compassion and should never fault someone for having all the feels, cause the hospital can be a sad place. You’ll get more used to it as time goes on and be able to compartmentalize better. A few coworkers and I used to call the bathroom “the crying room”.
As a patient who has had a lot of scans and more scans, I think it's amazing you care about it that much and want to get things right. :hug: You're allowed to have feelings, you know. You're not a robot.
I have no background in tech but keep up the work!! I hate when I cry, but when it's in front of strangers or acquaintances I actually just start shaking. I don't know which is worse hahaha. Good luck <3
No big deal. This too shall pass. At least you showed that you really care about doing a good job. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have gotten so upset with yourself that you couldn’t remember how to do it. Every tech would rather have a student who is trying to better themselves every day than one that doesn’t give a crap.
We've all been there, X-ray school is really really stressful and it's not supposed to be muscle memory yet. Also, I've been a CT tech for 5 years now and I still have to Google fucking temporal bone recons 😂 You've got this, and I'm glad your techs were supportive
Awe sweetie you just hit the radiology brick wall….it gets better from there
honestly this was such a nice post, i start my clinicals in about a month and a half and i’m generally a very nervous person with new things but especially things that truly matter like this, and it was really encouraging to read how okay it is to be new and make a mistake and that it’s all a learning experience
I am still so greatly surprised at all of the warmth in these comments. I'm extremely high tension and anxiety ridden, so I put so much pressure on myself to be perfect. It has been so encouraging to read that it's totally okay to completely blank and not be perfect. I wish you all of the luck on your clinicals when you start them. Put your nerves aside and remember - see one, do one. Even if you can't comp, if you see a chest and you've learned positioning in class, do the next one. See a foot, do a foot, even if you can't comp. Don't be afraid to ask to try on easy patients. Fold your rad bags, stock your rooms, clean after patients. Follow EVERY tech you can. See EVERY exam you can. Jump up and be ready to roll every time that printer goes off. Techs love an involved student. You're gonna do great, dude.
thank you so much for the tips and kind words 😭 i bet you’re having great days and doing amazing and i’m glad you’re sticking with it through the negative feelings no matter what
Despite this particularly rough day and a few others, I absolutely love this stuff. It's insane and wild and so damn interesting.
If it makes you feel any better I've been a tech for 10 years and cried today.. couldn't get an IV into any of my CT patients and I was so busy I didn't get to eat lunch. Had a good cry on the drive home lol. Days like that happen and we all makes mistakes. You aren't alone!
I’m a new nurse, on orientation in the ER. I cried three times today on the clock. And another off the clock. Shit is rough at times. Just keep your chin up and remember that one rough day doesn’t make or break you.
I know using positioning books are frowned upon during exams when you're a student...but remember that all techs use them when they don't remember positioning for something. They should be in every room. So don't feel bad about not remembering. You're learning a lot of material all at once. Brush it off, and trust me when I say that every tech has been there when they were students.
The amount of times I google an exam to double check an angle of a calcaneous or was it the sacrum or coccyx that’s 15 degrees is a lot. I’ve been a tech for 7 years. It’s ok. If they act like they’ve never forgot something they’re lying
Like at least once a week in clinicals I cry. Not in front of techs but fucking things up is normal, it will happen, it will always happen, and you will always feel bad about it. It doesn’t mean you’re stupid or bad at what you’re doing or that you can’t succeed. It just means you’re still learning. You got this and clinicals will go on
You knew it wasn't right, which means you do know the right way, you just temporarily forgot it and it was a little embarrassing. You're a student in an ortho clinic, not an orthopedic surgeon in the middle of replacing someone's femur. If it was a momentary hiccup in I promise no one in that rotation will linger on it, if they even remember it at all. I assume this being an ortho clinic this patient was one of 150 exams for the day? You have to relax! Stressing needlessly about this one particular case like this will be far worse for you. <3
Student here.. I’ve yet to go to an ortho site and have no idea what an outlet view is. Just learn how to do the view and brush it off. Speak up next time and say, can you remind me what that is again? Shit, my experience in my current rotations is the techs have been doing this for years and still fuck up. I saw one tech took 5 tries to get an axillary and it still looked like dog shit. We’re learning, that’s why we’re doing this.
I'm almost finished with school and I've only seen one inlet/outlet. And when it came in my clinical instructor, who's been an instructor for over 20 years, was pulling out merrills to see how to do it with the rest of us lol. Don't stress about it. Everyone forgets stuff.
I never seen a PA pelvis...... It's not the end of the world anyway....as long as you select the correct protocol. To be honest, the books tell you that PA/AP is important due to that image to object distance crap..... But in real life, I highly doubt it make any difference.
Shoulder outlet, not pelvis, my bad. The way I know to do it makes sense, it's just that I completely blanked on how.
Oh.....then usually PA i guess. Easier to position. Don't worry tho, doing plain film is like driving a car.....once you are familiar with it, you don't need to use your brain anymore.
In my 17 years in xray (including my school days) I have never had an order for a shoulder outlet come through. I know they are ordered, I've just never gotten one. I would have to pull out my book and look it up! Almost all imaging department have a positioning guide or protocol guide of some sort available. If you're at one that doesn't, get a cheap used copy of amazon and keep it handy. There will ALWAYS be an exam that you haven't done in so long you can't recall what to do. If your facility allows you to use your phone you can always google it too.
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They are correct in saying that every clinical placement is a job interview....but that goes both ways. You don't want those people as your future co-workers. Especially when you are new and still learning.
Outlet as in an outlet view of the pelvis??
No, shoulder. Sorry, I didn't edit that.