Radiography??

pajero12

Really interested in doing this course..would really appreciate the opinion of a radiographer or even a student doing this course...Thanks
JJ

ant043

Hi

Just finished radiography in ucd this year. I'm working at the minute in a temporary position in a hospital close to home. As you probably know there are very little permanent positions at the minute because of the recruitment freeze.There is alot of agency work around which suits me to be honest at the minute.

The course like everything has positives and negatives. It's a small class with only 40 taken every year so you get to know everybody really well. I've made some great friends in the last four years. Facilities in the health sciences building in ucd are very modern. It was only built when i entered first year. First and second year from what i can remember has alot of physics and anatomy modules plus a good bit of physiology also. The degree awarded depends on your results in 3rd and 4th year so i'd enjoy yourself as much as possible at the start. Heres a link on youtube with lecturers talking about the course to give you a better idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIbBHf7PVt4

To be honest if i could go back again i probably wouldn't have done the course. I just find the job a bit boring to be honest. You have very little extended contact with the patient and aren't involved in the care on a day to day basis. However most of my friends love it. Basic pay is of a good standard plus you can still make good money from on-call if you're willing to do alot. All i would say is make sure you go to an x-ray department and spend a day there to see if its really for you. That was my mistake.

Any other questions feel free to ask them away here or pm me. I don't know what else to say really. Good luck with whatever you decide.

roamer171

I would say a pre hospital visit is mandatory as all the Schools in UK ask for your experience of the X ray department and what you have seen. Depending on where you are in the country and what age feel free to pm me and if you are south we may be able to arrange a visit. At UCD the points are high but the course is well planned and gives you a good set of skills on qualification.

shanieboy01

There are definitely worse jobs. If you want to work in a hospital and not be a doctor its probably one of the best. You get to see a bit of everything. Patient care is also of just the right level. In the past it was female dominated but seems to be going the other way particularly in the UK and Australia.

Its only boring if you really want to interveen with patients ie do medical procedures on them.. but if you want to walk out at five o clock and not have to worry its a great job. Its very good for travelling too, every town in the world has at least an xray machine and the longer you are in the profession you can also specilise into MRI/CT/US/Mammography.

Be warned though dont talk to too many radiographers they dont seem to realise what a nice job they have. In my travels I have met many radiographers and they all seem to complain about it being boring but when they leave the profession the usually hurry back quite lively. Basically all jobs are boring once you get good at them. I had a friend who did opthomology after radiography and then stopped being an optician because it was too boring too.

pajero12

roamer171 wrote: »

I would say a pre hospital visit is mandatory as all the Schools in UK ask for your experience of the X ray department and what you have seen. Depending on where you are in the country and what age feel free to pm me and if you are south we may be able to arrange a visit. At UCD the points are high but the course is well planned and gives you a good set of skills on qualification.

How would i even go about asking for a visit?? I'm 18 btw!!

shanieboy01

Where are u based. email me if you want shanieboy01@yahoo.co.uk

UndertheBridge

Are you interested in the Diagnostic or Therapeutic aspect of Radiography? Getting work experience is easy. I did a day's shadowing in the radiotherapy dept in University College Hospital in Galway and I loved it. Even though it was a day I got brillant exposure and was shown so much!

I have completed a year of Therapeutic Radiography and have decided to give it up....to change to another course. One thing I would advise you to do is to be completely aware of the difference between Diagnostic and Therapeutic. Halfway into my year I realised that I would be more suited to Diagnostic than therapy...! They are completely different jobs, do your research into which one you think will suit you!

I did my course in the UK so if you have any questions just ask...PM or whatever!

pajero12

shanieboy01 wrote: »

Where are u based. email me if you want shanieboy01@yahoo.co.uk

I'm based in the midlands..In longford!

UndertheBridge wrote: »

Are you interested in the Diagnostic or Therapeutic aspect of Radiography? Getting work experience is easy. I did a day's shadowing in the radiotherapy dept in University College Hospital in Galway and I loved it. Even though it was a day I got brillant exposure and was shown so much!

I have completed a year of Therapeutic Radiography and have decided to give it up....to change to another course. One thing I would advise you to do is to be completely aware of the difference between Diagnostic and Therapeutic. Halfway into my year I realised that I would be more suited to Diagnostic than therapy...! They are completely different jobs, do your research into which one you think will suit you!

I did my course in the UK so if you have any questions just ask...PM or whatever!

Thanks for the info!!I'd be interested in the diagnostic aspect,Aplogies for the stupid questions but what does the theraputic aspect involve??

UndertheBridge

Therapy involves the use of x-rays to treat cancer, which is known as radiotherapy. Radiographers in this spectrum would work in radiotherapy departments in hospitals.

Radiotherapy is a vital part of cancer treatment and can be used to treat a variety of cancers e.g those of the head and neck, breast, colorectal and lung to name but a few. Many patients receiving radiotherapy would also be receiving or have received other treatments such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy or surgery.

We do not diagnose cancers (that is done by the oncologists). Our job is to deliver the treatment to the patient. The treatment plans are already made up by medical physicists and we use special x-ray machines called linear accelerators to deliver a beam of radiation to the area in which we need to treat i.e the area in which there is a tumour.

Therapy radiographers would still use diagnostic procedures such as CT and x-ray during treatments. Some of the machines we would use have ultrasound and CT machines built into them and we would regularly use them to take images of patients as we are treating them

A lot of people ask me if the job is quite depressing, seems as we work with people suffering with cancer. The answer is no. Surprisingly, 60% of the patients we treat will recover. Each day we would see anything from 20-30 patients and many of them would come in from work etc to be treated (to look at them you would never even know they have cancer!) Yes you will see some distressing cases i.e young children, young people your own age etc who are extremely ill but you will build up an emotional tolerance to it. Therapy radiographers are an optimistic bunch.....the department I did my placement in called themselves "The team with the beam"....beaming and smiling!

I'm going to put this as a my Job post as well!

roamer171

pajero12 wrote: »

How would i even go about asking for a visit?? I'm 18 btw!!

Phone your Local Hospital dept and they should be able to arrange a morning at least.