Individual Modalities

With the accumulation of knowledge and understanding from the doctor, the technologist, and you yourself, it is now time to examine the benefits and risks associated with some individual modalities associated with the field of Radiography. There are X-ray, Computed Tomography (CT, or CAT scan), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Ultrasound, and Mammography, just to name a few.

Radiologic Technologist's Responsibilities

One of the main roles of Radiologic Technologists is to ensure the protection of the patient. We learn throughout our entire training how to best do this. There is a term called ALARA which stands for As Low As Reasonably Achievable. This concept refers to the amount of radiation that is needed to get a diagnostic image. With the needed information, the technologist has some control over how to determine what is safe, or beneficial, and what is placing the patient in more risk than is absolutely necessary.

Responsibilities of the Referring Physician

The physician recommending or referring you for any radiologic procedure should be at least somewhat familiar with the benefits and risks associated with that exam. He or she should be able to give you reasoning behind the recommendation. Also, any optional procedures should be explained with associated known risks and benefits associated with each one they are aware of. The physician is many times your biggest educator on why a particular procedure should be done. If this physician is your regular family doctor, you probably have developed a trusted relationship with him or her. Whether or not this is the case, the physician who refers you to the radiology department will generally be the one to do the follow up and give you the results of what was found.

Patient's responsibilities

Each patient has the right to actively participate in this process of determining whether any recommended procedure will have benefits that make any possible associated risk worth participating in. Sometimes, but not always, do you have to rely on the doctor's recommendation. However, it is a wise and necessary step to coming to your final decision to take into consideration that recommendation. This is an especially important step when your situation requires a quick decision as to whether or not a procedure should be done. At other times, you are given the information, which may include a few different options of how to proceed, and then advised to think about what you would feel best about. When you are given this time, it can be helpful to talk to someone who may have had the same or a similar procedure about their experience. With this responsibility of determining the risk versus the benefits comes a need to become somewhat educated, which education and understanding can be obtained quite easily anymore with the use of the internet and many other informational resources available to anyone who is looking for help.

Risks vs. Benefits

Some patients enter into that "hallway" with no knowledge of the possible risks of radiation and some are well versed in the harm that may be done. No matter where you find yourself on this scale of understanding, something to keep in mind is that whenever and wherever radiation is involved, there are certain risks. However, the important thing to remember is that there are many benefits linked with these procedures that are associated with radiation and even some with the radiation itself. From the patient to the referring physician to the technologist, there are many people involved in determining whether or not the benefits outweigh the risks with each individual situation.

My story

On the night of August 12(see My Purpose statement), my view of this hallway was opened beyond what I had ever comprehended. That night, I had a grand mal seizure and was rushed to the hospital where, after consulting with the doctor, I was taken down that "hallway" for what would become the first of many images taken of the inner workings of my brain. During that first CT scan, a mass was found and it was determined that I needed to be transported to a larger hospital with a more advanced "hallway". I was next introduced to the MRI machine, which I saw as just another bigger, colder, much louder machine.
It is because of these machines that at first seem so daunting and unwelcoming that a brain tumor was found and removed before it could grow any more and do any further damage.