Essay required for admittance to a radiology tech program, containing observation experiences

It has not been quite recently when I scheduled and fulfilled the observation requirement, but about a year ago this month when applying for this program last year. The amazing thing about it is that the memory of this day still remains vividly in my mind. It was on this day that I learned the basic and not so basic job requirements for becoming a radiology technologist. Many might think that this job is limited to aiming a machine, positioning a patient, and taking pictures of their bones, but come to find out there was a whole lot more to it.

Radiology Technologists are everywhere from physician and dental offices to clinics and hospitals, and they are doing all kinds of things. On my day of observation, I started off with one of those "do I really want this job" situations when I was placed in a room to observe a young woman receiving a barium enema. The level of comfort was somewhat questionable, but it turned out that I had no problem dealing with this situation. I was interested in the fact that when a barium dye was added to the fluid of her enema, the insides of her intestines could be viewed to search for blocks or other problems. The next two patients observed were also receiving barium treatments. In one room I observed an elderly lady receiving a barium swallow exam in which she attempted swallowing different mediums of liquid and solid foods, which were also mixed with this barium dye. As she swallowed some of these things you could see on the monitor that small amounts were sometimes moving into her airway instead of her stomach. This was exactly what they were looking for so that a diet could be arranged for her in which this problem would no longer occur. The next barium case was the absolute saddest thing I had seen in a while. A three-year-old girl was to receive a catheter so that barium infused fluids could be pushed into her bladder. This was to see if it was backing up into her kidneys when full and resulting in numerous infections. The