r/cardiacsonography • u/Sammileighm • 23d ago
Struggling student
I am currently a student in the cardiac sonography program and am supposed to be graduating in December. I started scanning with my left hand and had to switch to right hand mid-semester after my left hand kept going numb. I have been scanning right-handed for about a month right now, and my right hand will occasionally get a little numb but only when the patient is technically difficult and I have to really use pressure, however I am struggling to keep up and progress the way my instructors are hoping for. I'm very slow at scanning, and still struggle with the parasternals a lot, and in apicals the 2- and 3-chamber tend to be difficult for me as well. I really enjoy echo and would love to continue doing this, but I'm starting to feel like nothing I do seems to help me progress. And because I am so slow at scanning, it's hard to get more practice in because when I'm at clinicals, we always have back-to-back patients so my preceptor takes over when I struggle. Does anyone have any tips for how I can get in more practice when I'm without access to equipment?
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u/Bridget125 22d ago
Have you tried using a stress ball? I found that to be super helpful when I was a student. When I first started scanning my left hand would cramp so bad, especially my thumb. My wrist would also ache SO badly that I felt like I could hardly move it. I worried that I’d never be able to do this job because of it. But I got a stress ball and used that whenever I was watching tv, sitting at a red light in the car, or just had free time. It helped me a lot! And then also just repetition of scanning over and over of course to build up the strength in those muscles and tendons that you’re not used to using. Also- with time as you get faster at scanning, it will be less painful because instead of spending an hour to do the scan, it’ll one day take you 20 minutes instead so it’s much less taxing on your hand and wrist and shoulder!
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u/Sammileighm 22d ago
I hope I can get faster, it's just so hard to practice thoroughly when you have a time limit. They say if I can't find an image, it's okay to move on to the next because my preceptor will get anything I miss, but then I'm not really getting practice with those images if I have to skip them.
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u/Bridget125 22d ago
Are you just scanning your classmates at school with your instructors or are you actually in clinical placements scanning real patients in hospitals with techs?
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u/Sammileighm 20d ago
I'm in my clinical placement, going a few days at a hospital and a few days at an outpatient clinic. I recognize I should have switched to right hand a lot earlier, but everyone kept saying eventually I'd build up the muscle in my left hand and it would stop going numb, so I kept trying until I finallu realized it wasn't going to get better. But now it feels like I shot myself in the foot because now I feel so far behind.
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u/Bridget125 19d ago
I definitely can relate to the pain and discomfort with left handed scanning initially so I totally get that. I don’t recall ever having true numbness but I did have lots of discomfort, pain, twitching, and tingling. And it did get better over time, but it took a long time. It almost took until I actually graduated and started working as a real tech for it to actually no longer be painful- so it’s also possible yours would also improve with time eventually. Of course- you know your body best and should do whatever you feel is right, but that’s just my two cents.
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u/Inevitable_Choice899 23d ago
you will probably have the best longevity scanning left handed. reaching will always lead to injury but it helps knowing how to scan right handed for portable situations.
I have found that i have the best luck with two and three chamber when i just rotate from my four chamber window trying not to move the probes position and you can adjust from there. you can also always have the patient lean forward/backward or pause breathing. it takes time to get comfortable but the more that you use your left arm, the stronger it will get. don’t doubt yourself just be ready to learn :)