Section II: PUTTING YOUR KNOWLEDGE BASE INTO PRACTICE
4-4.
THE PRACTICE: PRACTICAL APPLICATION
a. A Multi-Faceted Practice. The knowledge base gained in the didactic phase
(Phase I) and clinical phase (Phase II) of your training is put into practice almost
immediately upon reporting to your duty station as a staff radiographer. The practice of
radiography, as a whole, encompasses a variety of activities, not all of which are
necessarily called into play in anyone given assignment. In the course of your career,
however, you will probably have occasion to perform all the elements of the practice.
b. Performing Radiographic Examinations. A radiographer is expected to be
able to perform radiographic examinations of all parts of the body for use in diagnosing
disease and injury. (See figure below.)
RADIOGRAPHIC EXAMINATIONS
Skull and head work.
Thoracic radiography.
Extremity radiography.
Spinal radiography.
Abdominal radiography.
Fluoroscopic examinations.
Special procedures.
Rapid film changes in arteriography.
Figure 4-1. A radiographer is expected to perform radiographic examinations of
all parts of the body for use by the physician/ radiologist in
diagnosing disease and injury.
c. Providing Optimal Patient Care. As a competent health care professional, it
is expected that you will use established and accepted techniques and protect the
patient from radiation and other hazards. An x-ray is like a prescription drug in terms of
importance and gravity. Its use cannot be taken lightly. You would not, for example,
take an x-ray of a friend's leg to satisfy a passing curiosity about whether or not a sprain
suffered several years earlier had actually broken the bone.
d. Supervising Other Practitioners. In your initial assignments you will do all
of the busy work. But responsibility for supervising others may come sooner than you
might have anticipated. Therefore, it is to your advantage to become aware of the
supervisory and administrative aspects/operations of an x-ray clinic as soon as
possible.
MD0067
4-11
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