Latest / Cat Scan Guru Podcast / EP. 82 Why New CT Technologists Feel Lost in Their First Year

Transcript

EP. 82 Why New CT Technologists Feel Lost in Their First Year · Cat Scan Guru Podcast

• 0:00
  Hello, hello, welcome back everybody.
• 0:01
  Welcome back to the CAT Scan Guru podcast.
• 0:04
  Happy new year, everybody. We are in 2026.
• 0:09
  This is fucking amazing and it's fucking exciting.
• 0:13
  I am so grateful and thankful to be doing podcast episodes again.
• 0:18
  Took a little break, kind of get myself in the groove.
• 0:21
  Lots of good stuff coming for the podcast.
• 0:24
  So I'm going to give you a rundown before we get into
• 0:28
  today's episodes. So this is season 3 of the Cat
• 0:32
  Scan Guru podcast. This podcast has been going for
• 0:37
  three seasons, three years, and I'm super proud of that.
• 0:40
  So thank you to everybody who makes this podcast show possible
• 0:45
  and continues to listen. Subscribes You guys are fucking
• 0:48
  amazing because it keeps me just inspired to continue to put this
• 0:52
  content out. So let me kind of give you a
• 0:55
  rundown of what things are coming to the CAT Scan group
• 1:00
  podcast. So lots of good topics are
• 1:03
  coming to the podcast show. So we're going to be talking
• 1:07
  about different podcast or different types of episodes and
• 1:11
  topics when it comes to making sure that your CT training is
• 1:15
  tipped top, what you need to know as a beginner, workflows
• 1:20
  and things that you should know so you don't feel lost in your
• 1:23
  first year of CT. And I'm also going to go ahead
• 1:27
  and give some really good tips and things like that, whether
• 1:31
  you're a new technologist, old technologist, you know,
• 1:34
  experienced, whatever the case is and that should be now it
• 1:38
  tailors to the masses. There also lots of good things
• 1:41
  coming for the YouTube channel, a lot more educational videos.
• 1:44
  So make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel.
• 1:46
  It's LinkedIn, the show notes. So make sure you guys check that
• 1:49
  out. Been diving deep into getting
• 1:52
  those educational materials. And you will also see a playlist
• 1:56
  of all the protocol videos. If you follow me on TikTok, all
• 1:59
  the protocol videos that I do do it is now available to you on
• 2:03
  the YouTube channel. So make sure you go check that
• 2:05
  out and subscribe, OK? Also I have a very exciting
• 2:10
  venture that I took place in and this is become a good reality
• 2:15
  and I've been working on this all year in 2025.
• 2:19
  So now it is available to all you technologists out there.
• 2:23
  I have created probably the first of its kind, I believe, of
• 2:29
  ACT Protocol book. So the essentials.
• 2:34
  It's a basic general protocol book that is available for
• 2:38
  purchase. You can either download it as
• 2:40
  APDF or purchase it as a hard copy.
• 2:43
  This has been requested I don't know how many times through DMS,
• 2:49
  emails, comments on social media, things like that got my
• 2:53
  little brain together. All the protocols I've used
• 2:56
  throughout the 23 years I've been a technologist and got some
• 3:01
  general perspectives together, visuals, you name it, sections
• 3:05
  where you can write notes to help guide you in your CT
• 3:08
  training. So that is ACT Essentials
• 3:11
  protocol book. So make sure you check out the
• 3:14
  show notes. I'm super excited about this.
• 3:16
  So it is one thing that I've been working on all in 2025.
• 3:20
  I know I kind of let up to it, you know, kind of mentioning
• 3:23
  things here and there. I just didn't want to give away
• 3:25
  too much information just yet until that book was live.
• 3:28
  So make sure you go check it out.
• 3:30
  I think it'll be very, very helpful, especially the oncoming
• 3:34
  new technologists or even you seasoned technologists if you
• 3:37
  need a little bit of extra refresher.
• 3:39
  So that is one of the things that's very exciting and
• 3:43
  hopefully that will channel the masses and hopefully I can get
• 3:47
  it into some of the ECT programs to help them out too.
• 3:50
  So go check that out. Everything is in the show notes.
• 3:52
  Make sure you follow on Talk or Instagram, subscribe to the
• 3:56
  podcast, subscribe to the YouTube channel.
• 3:58
  I'll get things coming. So let's get into today's
• 4:01
  episode. So in today's episode, we are
• 4:04
  going to be talking about why as a new CT technologist, they feel
• 4:09
  lost in their first year. I was a new CT technologist at
• 4:13
  one time and I could tell you in the very beginning I was very
• 4:16
  overwhelmed and it was a lot when it came to CT, and I felt
• 4:22
  fucking lost in my first year as a scanning CT technologist.
• 4:27
  Now, there are several things, and I'm going to just kind of
• 4:30
  give you some of the topics that I'm going to talk about.
• 4:32
  There's several things why this happens #1 there's training
• 4:35
  gaps. It's an emotional toll that new
• 4:38
  technologists feel, and we really don't know as a new
• 4:41
  technology what we actually need.
• 4:43
  So I'm going to be diving deep into these topics.
• 4:46
  So the first thing that I talked about was training gaps.
• 4:48
  I see this everywhere I go. There are a lot of training gaps
• 4:52
  when it comes to people who are coming into CT for the very
• 4:55
  first time and they're learning because they want to gain the
• 4:59
  experience. They want to transition to CT
• 5:01
  students from CT programs. I've seen it all and I think I
• 5:05
  know exactly why this happens. So a lot of the reasons why we
• 5:08
  have training gaps is because there really is isn't a system
• 5:13
  that is in place in the clinical setting like out there in the
• 5:16
  department. We're not talking about CT
• 5:18
  programs, we're not talking about any of that, OK.
• 5:21
  So that is separate from this. We're talking about you as a
• 5:24
  technologist coming into the department, whether you're
• 5:27
  transitioning from X-ray, whether you are doing your
• 5:30
  clinicals from ACT program, OK, even though, you know, CT
• 5:34
  programs really don't have like a structured, you know, training
• 5:38
  program in the clinical setting. Sorry, but I haven't seen one.
• 5:42
  So unless you guys have, you can let me know.
• 5:44
  Or if you're even a traveler and you're coming onto a new site,
• 5:48
  you have to be properly trained on exactly how exams are done,
• 5:53
  what the policy and procedures are.
• 5:55
  We really shouldn't be teaching you how to scan because you
• 5:57
  should know that. Now the things that we should be
• 6:00
  teaching you is, is this a CT machine that you've used and
• 6:03
  making sure that you know how to use it because everybody
• 6:06
  scanning ability should be the same.
• 6:07
  OK. So lots of training gaps where I
• 6:11
  haven't seen like a very just solid system training checklist
• 6:16
  or even a training program really that exists in a lot of
• 6:20
  these facilities, hospitals, clinics, wherever it is that you
• 6:23
  work at. OK.
• 6:25
  And I think this is a huge disservice and a huge
• 6:28
  disadvantage when it comes to new CT technologists because
• 6:32
  that is the piece that is missing because CT is
• 6:34
  overwhelming. It's very complex.
• 6:36
  There's a lot of freaking protocols to remember.
• 6:38
  In contrast, patient centering and all these things that you
• 6:42
  have to know. So if we set up our text for
• 6:45
  success where we set them up that they have a proper system
• 6:50
  checklist, a proper training program, this will alleviate a
• 6:55
  lot of the burden and a lot of the frustration that a lot of
• 6:58
  new technologists really feel. And I think it's a really good
• 7:01
  thing. I know at the facility I work
• 7:04
  at, we started implementing a training program.
• 7:07
  When people come on with the checklist, I think it could be
• 7:10
  solidified a little bit more, but I am not in charge of that
• 7:14
  program. So but a clear system with a
• 7:17
  checklist, with a clear training program and just step by step on
• 7:22
  how it should be devised is very, very important.
• 7:25
  If you want more on how I feel this should be structured, I
• 7:29
  have a free PDF guide in the show notes that you can check
• 7:32
  out Now. The second piece to this is the
• 7:34
  emotional toll. We know that from 1520 years ago
• 7:40
  to now, the amount of imaging that is ordered has just
• 7:46
  quadrupled. We can just 1000% agree on that,
• 7:51
  OK? Because the amount of imaging
• 7:53
  that comes out of emergency rooms, that comes from
• 7:56
  outpatient, that comes from inpatient orders is a lot.
• 8:00
  And The thing is, is that when you have your work list and you
• 8:03
  have 20-30 CTS that you have to do on 2030 ER patients and then
• 8:08
  you have 78910 stats from the ICU, you have, excuse me, a
• 8:15
  outpatient list that is 607080 patients long.
• 8:19
  And that's not including anything that gets added on.
• 8:22
  OK, It can really take an emotional toll because
• 8:26
  turnaround times are a huge thing and and it's a lot of what
• 8:31
  management and hospital administrations are pushing out,
• 8:34
  OK, that pressure is felt in the emergency room and it's felt in
• 8:39
  CT departments, basically all of radiology as well, right?
• 8:43
  So the emotional toll is, oh, OK, there's 20 stats.
• 8:47
  We got to get these done. You know, they have a criteria
• 8:52
  of of our turn around times and because behind those turn around
• 8:55
  times, you know the hospital gets a certain amount of
• 8:58
  reimbursement and that's why they stress turn around times
• 9:02
  and this and that. And it's very emotionally taxing
• 9:06
  and very frustrating. So my advice to you as far as
• 9:09
  that is don't try to take on so many exams at once.
• 9:13
  You can only scan one patient at a time.
• 9:16
  That's all you can do is 1 patient at a time, right?
• 9:19
  So what I highly encourage you to do is make sure that you
• 9:22
  focus on the patient that you're scanning and make sure that you
• 9:26
  are very detailed. Don't try to rush the process
• 9:29
  because that's how we make mistakes.
• 9:31
  Focus on that patient, focus on that exam, make sure you do it
• 9:34
  efficiently, safely, and then you know, we get everything
• 9:38
  done, recons the whole 9 yards, and then we get the patient back
• 9:43
  to the ER so we can move on to the next patient, OK?
• 9:46
  Because CT is very emotionally taxing and you can feel very
• 9:50
  rushed. I don't want you to feel rushed
• 9:52
  because that's how you make mistakes, that's how patients
• 9:55
  get injured, and that's how serious Sentinel events come
• 9:58
  about. OK?
• 9:59
  What new technologists really actually need, They need
• 10:03
  support. This is a big one, guys.
• 10:05
  Support is very, very important, OK?
• 10:08
  When it comes to who the preceptor is, who's training
• 10:12
  you, who you're picking up knowledge from, who you're
• 10:15
  asking questions to, emotional support is very, very important,
• 10:19
  OK, because, and you have to have that accountability as well
• 10:23
  and constructive feedback because if you're messing up on
• 10:26
  exams, you need to know why and how to correct them the first
• 10:29
  time. OK, The thing is, is what I
• 10:32
  absolutely despise is when new texts are paired up with
• 10:38
  seasoned people who don't know the why behind things.
• 10:42
  You have to know the why behind things.
• 10:44
  Do not train people to to be button pushers because that's
• 10:47
  not what we are. We have a very important job.
• 10:50
  We are a profession and we take care of patients just like
• 10:53
  nurses would, respiratory therapists, doctors, residents,
• 10:57
  whoever's in the hospital that touches that patient, OK?
• 11:00
  So what they actually need is emotional support because some
• 11:03
  exams, you know what, it does something to us, especially if
• 11:06
  the patient codes, we're doing CPR and the patient happens to
• 11:10
  not be with us anymore. That can be a very big emotional
• 11:13
  toll on us. OK.
• 11:16
  And that emotional support is very, very important, especially
• 11:19
  because as healthcare workers, we see a lot of things that the
• 11:23
  general public does not see and that nobody should see.
• 11:26
  That constructive feedback is very important because if you
• 11:31
  happen to screw up on an exam, you have to know why and how to
• 11:35
  correct it. Or if you get stuck somewhere,
• 11:37
  you have to know, hey, this is where I'm stuck.
• 11:41
  I need help. So you need to have a strong
• 11:43
  preceptor. That is what new tech actually
• 11:46
  need, a strong preceptor, somebody that they can ask
• 11:49
  questions. Somebody says, OK, I don't
• 11:52
  understand this, can you explain this to me?
• 11:53
  Can you show me how to do this? That is one of the most critical
• 11:57
  pieces that we need to instill and make sure that we practice
• 12:00
  every single day and also do not gatekeep.
• 12:04
  OK, I don't know why some technologists like to gatekeep.
• 12:07
  Do not gatekeep because you know what?
• 12:09
  Me as a preceptor or me that's teaching somebody, I would want
• 12:13
  the person who I'm training or who I'm educating to know more
• 12:18
  than I do because then you know, you've done your job.
• 12:20
  Even from very old school technologists, techs that have
• 12:24
  been in the business 3540 years, I enjoy having conversations
• 12:28
  with them because they have a lot of knowledge and you can
• 12:31
  learn something from them. Even some of the new techs, if
• 12:34
  they picked up something, you can still learn from everybody
• 12:37
  and that is something that new technologists really need.
• 12:40
  You need to have all those pieces because that is very good
• 12:43
  for your toolbox of knowledge. OK.
• 12:46
  And also write things down, protocols, you know,
• 12:51
  incrementations, positioning, you know, supplies that are
• 12:54
  used, contrast amounts, you know, pediatric protocol.
• 12:58
  Whatever the case is, make sure you carry a notebook and write
• 13:01
  them down. And I'm going to tell you why
• 13:03
  your brain cannot handle the amount of information that CT
• 13:07
  pumps out. There is no fucking way that you
• 13:09
  are going to remember all those protocols and all this and all
• 13:12
  that. It's physically and mentally
• 13:14
  impossible. That's why I encourage everybody
• 13:17
  or even make some notes on your phone, voice notes.
• 13:21
  I don't care what it is, just make sure that you write
• 13:23
  something down and make sure that you keep it stored
• 13:26
  somewhere that if you have to refer back to it, that's what
• 13:29
  you need to do. You know, notes on your phone,
• 13:32
  voice notes, whatever it is that will make you remember, OK, this
• 13:37
  is what I need to do in the event of this.
• 13:39
  These are the supplies I need for a biopsy.
• 13:41
  This is what I need for a cardiac exam.
• 13:44
  Whatever the case is, just make sure that happens.
• 13:47
  OK, so you need to learn structured CT training.
• 13:51
  I have a course LinkedIn, the show notes that you can go ahead
• 13:55
  and follow that you can get just some structured CT training.
• 14:00
  OK, so that is it for this episode and hopefully all these
• 14:04
  points that I went ahead and address will help you while
• 14:08
  you're training on the floor and making sure that your CT
• 14:11
  training is efficiently and hopefully your your first year
• 14:15
  in CT doesn't feel as dreadful or lost or overwhelming after
• 14:21
  some of these tips. OK, so everything is in the show
• 14:24
  notes. Make sure you give me a follow
• 14:26
  on TikTok on Instagram, subscribe to the podcast,
• 14:29
  subscribe to the YouTube channel.
• 14:30
  All good resources to keep your CT training tip top.
• 14:34
  So thank you so much for joining me in this episode and I'll you
• 14:37
  guys on the next episode.