Radiography

nachos

I'm looking for some information on Radiography, what's it to practice in a hospital, good points/bad points etc.

Just some background on myself, I'm 24 and I got an honours degree in computing from DCU. I've been working in IT for the last 2 years, but it's slowly dawning on me that I can't see myself doing it for the rest of my life.
I've always had an interest in radiography, in fact, when I was in transition year I did a 2-day placement in the radiography unit in Our Lady's Hospital Crumlin. While I found it interesting, I didn't think it was for me at the time and I didn't do enough research on it.

I've some more thinking and research to do, but I'm thinking that I might apply in 2009 as a mature student to study Radiography. So any opinions or advice very much welcome!

ant043

well i'm heading into third rad in ucd in september. Its a good course but there is a lot of placement especially in third and fourth year. At the moment,its hard to find jobs with the current health freeze. they do accept a few mature students every year so i'd say you are in with a good shout. There are a few rads on boards who i'm sure could tell you more than me. If you have any specific questions about the course or anything just pm me no hassle.

Bison

If that is what you want then go for it....
BUT....
you need to be sure this is what you want... the fact that you ditched it before would worry me.
you are not eligble for free fees and you will be in substantial debt by the time you finish this course so you need to see yourself as a serious student in the radiography world. You will need to love what you do.

nachos

Bison wrote: »

If that is what you want then go for it....
BUT....
you need to be sure this is what you want... the fact that you ditched it before would worry me.
you are not eligble for free fees and you will be in substantial debt by the time you finish this course so you need to see yourself as a serious student in the radiography world. You will need to love what you do.

Thanks for the replies, I've still lots of research to do on this. I going to try and get a few days in a radiography unit to get a better feel for it. And I want to do an introduction to science course as I'm a little rusty on alot of the stuff from the leaving cert! It will also give me a taste of what it's like to study science subjects. In addition to this I want to try to volunteer in a hospital or care home to get a better idea of what interacting with patients could be like. Any other ideas on what I could do?

I know I won't qualify for free fees, but I should be able to save the amount needed to pay the 4 years fees between now and then. I may need to take out a student loan for living expenses but these should be on the lower end as I live in Dublin and the parents should be able to accomodate me. It's not an ideal situation but a means to an end.

Just what you said about having ditched it, might be a bit strong for my thinking at the time. I sort of talked myself out of it at the time thinking that I wouldn't get the points, that I hadn't researched it enough and that I wouldn't be able to grasp the subject matter.

Thanks for the replies, keep them coming!

Stepherunie

I've jsut finished Radigoraphy in UCD this year and I'm heading back in September to do some research.

Coming from a computer background could be beneficial for you in terms of advancement in jobs - a lot of the specialisation/ reserach at the moment is in the computer section of Radiography.

To be honest about it all:

It's a great degree - it's probably one of the toughest around in terms of Radiography and if you're interested in reserach at all then UCD is probably at the forefront of radiography reserach in Europe.

If you a person who's very autonomous it can be rough going - in Ireland we are not allowed to report on x - rays and Radiologists are still very much in control of a lot of the very interventional work.

You need to be prepared for the fact that when you do qualify that you will be on extended working days or else on call. It's never going to be a 9 - 5 job.

In terms of career advancement, it takes time. I'm going straight into a reserach masters a) because I love reserach but also because I hope that it will help me to move up the ladder faster - it can take years to be trained into specialities and move the the ladder in Ireland and that can be fairly frustrating.

If you're squemish at all then you might need to think again - we get patients in right after major accidents and that can be rough going. There are days when it all gets to you and I think there'd be few in my class who haven't gone home and wished they'd chosen something different.

There's generally at least 2 mature students in every class and in UCD we only have 40 students in every year so it's a very close course. We have a RadSoc which runs events fairly regularly and we're trying to get more and more events running with other societies.


There is definately a lot of placement involved in the course and doing study after you've worked a crazy clinic in A&E can be the most off putting thing about it.


If you are seriously considering it then you're definately doing the right thing by going and getting some work experience. It's not the right profession for everyone and I found that the people who dropped out were the ones who hadn't done some work experience. Most hospitals will more than happily accomodate you for a few days.

peachystarr

Radiographers are cool!!

The course itself is not too bad compared with other courses...study wise its pretty ok for the 1st 3 years anyway, ill have to wait and see what final year holds.

Its small ~40 ish so you'll make pretty good friends.

Theres a load of placement which can be such a drag at times but it gets much easier the more confidant you get.

Moneys good for the work you do, its not half as hard as being a nurse anyway.

By doing your research your one step ahead because I went into the course having never stepped inside a hospital and didnt know anything about the course and Im still in it so while getting some experience is def a help it is by no means essential, loads in my class had never been in a dept before and were all still here.

Its gona cost you tho...7000 yoyo's a year so get saving if your gona do it.