Case studies: Senior radiographer: Jenny

Jenny is a senior radiographer, working in a hospital assisting with renal and urology interventions.

My diagnostic radiography degree prepared me fairly well for the job, although the biggest learning curve is when you actually start work. I would recommend looking for degrees with a high percentage of time spent on clinical placements and those where placements are a decent length, i.e. more than four weeks.

When I applied for my first job, the competition was fairly stiff, although I think that it has eased slightly now. Some of my fellow students had to move in order to find jobs, so geographical mobility will increase your chances of finding a suitable job more quickly.

My first post involved 18 months of general imaging work and then I changed roles to be able to start to specialise. My current job involves working in CT, MRI and angiography (angio). So far I have spent most of my time on intervention work in the angio room. I will be concentrating more on CT and MRI when we move to a new, state-of-the-art radiology department that is currently being built. MRI will be a bit more difficult to grasp as it uses a more complex technology to create images, so there will be quite a lot of associated physics to learn. I have also been on an ‘injecting course’ and hope to use this new skill as my careers moves into CT and MRI.

In angio I work as part of a team with doctors, nurses and other radiographers, assisting with renal and urology interventions. We use fluoroscopy, real-time imaging, to look at the veins and arteries of kidney dialysis patients to assess whether blood is flowing correctly and to check for narrowing of veins, which would stop dialysis working properly. We also carry out a wide range of urology procedures which involve looking at the kidneys, ureters (tubes that connect the kidneys to the bladder) and bladder. My job is firstly to explain the procedure to the patient and then to assist the doctor by keeping the imaging equipment positioned correctly over the particular body part, to obtain the best pictures. We are also responsible for organising the lists of patients that need to be seen. I am also involved in general X-ray work with a range of patients, either in the radiology department or moving around the hospital using portable equipment. These are mainly chest X-rays. We also work in theatre, using fluoroscopy during surgery.

I like the level of contact with patients and the satisfaction of having produced the best image possible. I also like the fact that there is a range of specialist areas, many possible by training on the job. I’m not so keen on having to get up for night shifts, but currently I only do about two nights every three weeks.

At the moment I am really enjoying working in angio and wish to further my skills in intervention work. However, I still want to experience other areas of work before I make any final decisions on specialisation. I may also want at some point to leave and start a family and know that the NHS will support this and returning to work after a break will be possible.