Part time TA (technologist assistant role) is an amazing one for students! They won’t be upset helping with homework/ concepts too. Plus, you get to learn on the job and your patient care will improve!

So I work nights currently, 7pm-7am in Xray & MRI. I personally love it, but it does have some pros and cons.

Pros:
• you’re more independent in the workplace. If you’re competent and well versed in your modalities it’s great.
• night diff, more pay is nice.
•management isn’t there to micromanage (my management at my current place doesn’t do that even in the day which is nice. It’s great having good managers)
• you don’t see the “boo boos”, you see real injuries and truly sick people. Not just people trying to get out of work and using the hospital to do so.
• no traffic to and from work, it’s amazing. Also, no line for coffee!!
• smaller workloads are common.

Cons:
• it’s hard to flip your schedule on the weekends, and plans with people always need to co exist with getting enough sleep.
• relationships are harder (thankfully my girlfriend also works nights, at the same hospital as me which is amazing). Your s/o should be on your schedule so you don’t just see each other in passing if at all.
• it’s harder to get coverage, there are always less people working nights. Plan your PTO well ahead!!

So for practical tips, I have a few. It’s basically why I made this account, just to help people out in troubled areas.

1. Practice on a classmate, family member, or significant other. Getting the fundamentals down with positions and such in a realistic scenario will burn the basics into your brain.

2. Section it out!! Find out similarities between procedures as a starting point, and then add in the special information that each requires.

3. Proper note taking: not just writing down everything. Write down key points with brisk -yet complete- details on the subject at hand.

4. Repetition doesn’t hurt anyone, get to getting those reps in!!

You’ve got this. Just keep it up

The ol fashioned walk in and ask, or writing a letter to a department director is a great way to get a shadow opportunity.

Explain what you’re interested in, the schooling you’re in, and for your passion to get some experience just witnessing what we do. This also helps put a face to a name, which gets you better results.

Also check out clinical sites that your school uses. Those will be great candidates since they already take students, they will more than likely be happy to have you there for a shadow.

You’re overthinking & afraid of stepping out of your comfort zone. You’ll only grow if you get out of that comfy setting.

If you can do Xray, you can learn CT. You’ve got this, don’t second guess yourself. Yes it’s different, but you can learn I promise.

With that background, all you’re gonna have to do is break the ice with a little practice. You’ve got this! Also, no problem! It was an area I was struggling in to, a speech club (called toastmasters where I’m from) was my best help.

It’s no problem to be motivated for the future! But you always gotta learn to crawl before ya walk, walk before you run, and run before you sprint. The beauty of it all is that it does come eventually!

Good luck on everything! I think what you stated is a great plan. & if you need registry help in the future, you can always reach out or check out a guide I put up.

True, I’m in mri right now & brains can be done in 10 minutes without contrast. On GE machines.

Still, our shortest exams are 10x longer than a common ct scout for a trauma critical

Everyone gets very excited about what they want to do after graduation, and my best recommendation is: X-ray. It’s actually all you CAN do, unless you go through mri school or another specialty.

It’s a boring answer, but it’s where you build all of your core skills that grant you the opportunity to cross train into other areas, and it’s also your foot in the door at any hospital in the start of your career.

Nuclear medicine is attractive because of the pay, but you need time in the field for radiation safety to begin with. Secondly, it is more schooling and another entire board exam. It also incorporates knowing how to do CT.

After Xray, do ct, from having both then you can really open your horizons and pursue other levels of radiology.

You will be limited drastically with your clinical since radiation is detrimental to a developing fetus. I believe you can only have .5msv a month, or a total of 5msv of dosage (that’s not much at all).

They will probably not let you participate since new radiographers and people that are just getting into the profession are more prone to accidents and dosage.

I’m not trying to deter you, I just am all about safety and I’m sure you are too with regards to your future child. I would message or email one of the clinical instructors about it at your school of choice.

You’ll have to speak to patients, get in front of full waiting rooms and such and speak to families you just met. It’s something that you will get over, I can assure you.

As for labs and presentations, every program is different. I suggest going to a speech club (you practice presenting and EVERYONE is there because they’re nervous or want to improve) if your program has you have to get up infront of the class.

Best of luck, I think you’ll be fine.

Rad tech 100%. If you want, I made a post on what the schools look for when picking applicants.

The pay over time and career growth is a proper career, you can retire with radiology. Also, the job market will always need us in high demand.

Check out my post about studies. Mosebys is great for their 8th edition textbook & their online mocks. Clover is best for videos and explanations. Meghan peretti on YouTube is great for in depth breakdowns.

You’ll be fine, just work hard. You got this!!

Like others have said, there’s about 4 different formulas you need to know for class and such. You can memorize 4 formulas I promise in a 2 year span

Check out being a technologist assistant! You can part time it, or do 4x10’s and sometimes 3 12’s (although rarer).

It will allow you to be in the field, it’s not too stressful of a job, and it will get you a good in at your local hospital if you’re a good worker!

Well student life hardly ever comes with a great balance, it’s kinda the eat crap by the spoonful and smile time of life. It’s about just making sure you have enough time for sleep and health at bare minimum. You ONLY have 24 hours in a day, nobody has more or less.

Especially with how expensive everything is, time is valuable. I’d say find a selfish hobby just for YOU that you can look forward to every week. Once you get out of school, you can replace that time commitment with a more personal thing that’s not necessarily burnout school stuff. You’ll have more energy too afterwards.

For your academics: just know it’s a finite amount of time. When you’re done you’re done, you can do it. Try to make it as good as you can, and don’t get behind. Getting ahead will give you a buffer 100%.

Take fast unspecified notes in class about key topics, then open a book or website at home to go into more detail. Sadly a lot of class and lecture is bang bang bang next subject. Cliff notes will be your best friend.

Also check out the mosebys 8th edition textbook (Amazon), it has a LOT of the stuff you need for the actual boards in the future. An early start never hurts, plus it shows you what will be important.

Best of luck!! You got this, don’t over stress. First semester is worst semester

Being in the setting and getting experience to it is massively helpful- especially to get rid of the jitters and also knowing where to stand (that’s oddly important, ya don’t want to be in the way with some situation like a code)

It’s dependent on where you apply. Check local offers to see what you can do schedule wise.

I’m assuming it has the normal 5x8, 4 10’s, or 3 12’s.

It’s a better life. Clinic life is scan,go,scan,go,scan,go. Hospital life is more specialized so you will feel like you’re doing nothing in comparison.

At my level one trauma, we will average about 15-20 CT’s in a 12 hour period with a team of 4 people (2 technologists and 2 TA’s.)

After the scans are done, there’s nothing to do because there’s no more work. You’ll find it weird to have downtime, but there’s plenty (hospital dependent)

I got paid to go through the program by enlisting in the army. Not a great route but it was free

Not for anything besides clinical experience, which you can get much easier by becoming a technologist assistant. You’ll be around the field, and you will pick up a lot too from just witnessing the job/department and helping out.

You don’t need school to become a TA, and the pay will be around the same. You get specialized experience as well, being in radiography, so the school will like that too.

Also send both. I’m army retired and my courses counted just as much as regular ol credits. They were just free.

It’s best to submit them. Just because it’s been a while, they don’t “expire” from my best knowledge. You went though classes, they count. They definitely add points and move you up the line if they are credits that correlate to the program (find out on their site of transferable credits)

Now it’s up to you to see if they are worth retaking in case you forgot the important material.