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EP. 73 CT 101: What You Weren't Taught · Cat Scan Guru Podcast

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  Hello, hello, welcome back everybody.
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  Welcome back to the podcast. So glad to be back recording
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  episodes with you guys. So I have some updates and some
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  really good information to give you guys because I have a slew
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  of brand new episodes for the month of October.
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  OK, so I am bringing you some really good hack full
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  information on this podcast. And if you haven't subscribe to
• 0:30
  the YouTube channel because there's more content coming to
• 0:32
  the YouTube channel as well. So let me kind of run through
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  some updates really quick. OK, so like I mentioned with the
• 0:37
  YouTube channel, I am going to be posting here soon, probably
• 0:42
  this week. So make sure you follow on
• 0:44
  social, make sure you're on my e-mail list so you can get the
• 0:47
  exact date on when I'm dropping this course, I am going to be
• 0:54
  teaching and uploading a video on a patient centering course
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  because that seems to be a topic that's really, really hot is
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  patient centering. So I'm going to give you some
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  really good tips and I'm going to go into depth on patient
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  centering and why that matters. OK?
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  So make sure you stay tuned for that.
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  That's going to be uploaded on the YouTube channel later on
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  this week. So make sure you're on the
• 1:16
  e-mail list. Make sure you follow on TikTok
• 1:18
  and Instagram because I will be releasing the date on that.
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  OK, also make sure you guys follow on TikTok because I
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  dropped some really good informational stuff when it
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  comes to CT on TikTok because that is my main platform.
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  This platform I love to post on, so make sure you do that as
• 1:36
  well. Now I've also had a backup page
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  on TikTok. That's when my main page did get
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  hacked, but it was restored to me a few months ago.
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  So I have just kind of kept that second page dormant.
• 1:49
  Well, I've decided to rebrand it and I'm going to be talking
• 1:53
  about more life content, sharing more pieces about my life as a
• 1:57
  mom, being divorced, relationships, doing feeling
• 2:01
  inner work and just childhood, you know, inner shit trauma.
• 2:07
  If you want to follow that page and see all the good stuff on
• 2:10
  that, I'll have a link in the show notes so you can follow
• 2:12
  that page on TikTok. OK.
• 2:15
  That one also has its own dedicated podcast and YouTube
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  channel. So I'll put all that stuff in
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  the show notes so you guys can follow along.
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  So got some really good episodes coming for the Cat Scan Guru
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  podcast. Just some things that we're
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  going to talk about and we're going to dial this shit up a
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  little bit. OK?
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  So in today's episode, we're going to talk into depth about
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  CT 10. What what you weren't taught.
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  OK, I know I've gone through CT 101 episodes before, but this is
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  going to be spicier with some hotter takes and some
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  information that you really should know.
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  So if you're new here, make sure you subscribe to the podcast and
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  make sure you like share, you know, with a technologist that's
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  fucking needs to hear this shit. OK, so real CT training didn't
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  come from a program or from your first job.
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  I know that's going to be a hot take for everybody.
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  This is the episode that's going to give you some foundation so
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  you can stop guessing when you're doing your CT training,
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  especially as a new technologist or if you're at a new facility,
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  right? So let's be real.
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  OK, Let's have a reality check for a second.
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  Your program, you know, in CT or the minimal training that you
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  received when you were just starting out, you know, taught
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  you just enough. It didn't teach you everything,
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  but it taught you just enough. But that enough wasn't good
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  enough. OK, Now I'm going to be talking
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  about some things here on what I think you should understand and
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  what are the foundations of CT, OK?
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  Now, not knowing your anatomy, your protocols, contrast,
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  timing, all those things are very important, OK?
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  Because there are certain landmarks, there are certain
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  anatomy that we have to cover depending on the exam that we're
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  scanning, depending on the scan that is asked for.
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  And sometimes patients are very complicated and you can't get
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  like an optimal scan and you have to do the best that you can
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  knowing your basic protocols. Listen, NCT, there's a shit ton
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  of protocols, OK? The protocol book is thicker
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  than I don't know what. It is physically impossible for
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  you to remember all those protocols in your freaking
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  brain, OK? That's why I encourage texts to
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  make sure that they take a notebook or something with them
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  so they can write shit down South.
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  So protocols there are, you know, basic protocols that you
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  should know in your head without contrast.
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  Your PE study, your abdomen, pelvis with contrast.
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  You know, your C, spine, facial bones, things that you do every
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  day, all day that gets ordered through the ER consistently and
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  that we're freaking bored of scanning.
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  Those are the things you need to know.
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  Contrast time because certain exams have different contrast
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  timing. So for example, a PE study has a
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  different contrast timing than an abdomen and pelvis with
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  contrast. If you're looking for abdominal
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  pain, the timing is very different.
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  And those are the things that you need to know.
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  Now, this is one of the pieces that I stress in every podcast
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  episode and I am going to continue to tell you until I'm
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  blue in the face until you get it.
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  Patient positioning, Why? This is the foundation of it all
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  because optimal scans and optimal dose start out with
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  correct patients positioning and centering.
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  Let me say that again, optimal exams and optimal scanning start
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  from proper patient positioning and centering.
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  It's the foundation of everything.
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  That's how you get your dose. You know, under the limits that
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  you're supposed to, making sure you're administering the correct
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  dose because you need to remember your scalp calculates
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  how much dose is going to be delivered to the patient and the
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  system calculates that. So if you're way off, it's going
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  to calculate either something that's way too low and the tube
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  is starving, or it's way too high where it's exposing in the
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  patient with too much radiation. Now, I know there are certain
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  instances where you get contracted patients, patients
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  who are combative, patients who are just a hot mess.
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  What I say to that is to do the best you can, you could still
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  position and center properly. Even if they're contracted, even
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  if they're a hot mess, you can still do it, right?
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  OK. And then your landmarks that
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  matter. OK, So we know for a CT of the
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  head, you're going to center at your OM.
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  You know, for your chest, you're going to center at the sternal
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  notch. You know for the abdomen and
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  pelvis, you're going to Center for the xiphoid tip.
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  Now with systems like Siemens and Phillips, you have to center
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  higher. And this is one of the things
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  that I taught one of the texts that is brand new to our
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  department where I work at is on the Phillips machine that we
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  have in the department. You actually have to center
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  higher because the table starts moving before those tube
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  exposes. So and I said just watch it when
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  we when it gives you the green light to go, just watch the
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  table and listen to the exposure.
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  And sure enough, the table started moving first before the
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  exposure hit. So that's why you have to center
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  higher. OK, and then mastering your
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  protocols. Now, I don't expect you to know
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  every single freaking protocol there is to man, OK, I expect
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  you to know the basic ones because those are the ones that
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  you're going to, you know, get repetition on.
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  You're going to be consistent on and you're going to build
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  knowledge on because once you are consistent, there's
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  repetition and you have knowledge on all the basic
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  protocols you're going to fucking then just kill it with
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  the other ones and you're going to know exactly what to do and
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  you know what you're doing. OK, so you have to master those
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  protocols. Plus you also need to master on
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  what you're doing in that room with the patient.
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  It's not all about pressing buttons guys, because you know
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  what? I get some text in my comments
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  in on TikTok that they feel that it's just pressing a button.
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  I'm telling you, CT is more complex than that and radiology
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  is more than that OK than pressing a damn button.
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  It's not all about pressing buttons, your actually making an
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  impact in that patient's life and trying to figure out
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  clinically what is wrong with them so doctors can treat them.
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  OK Now you can't be confident if you don't know the basics.
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  Period, end of story. OK like you need to know your
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  basics. You need to know how to position
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  your patient properly. You need to know how to utilize
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  the buttons, how to put them on the table correctly, how to, you
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  know, maneuver the table up and down, where to select the
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  protocols. You know on your screen how to
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  execute that contrast timing. Making sure your four's are good
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  and they're checked properly, making sure that your contrast
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  is injector is primed and ready to go, making sure you're
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  checking labs, checking the orders, checking the chart for
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  allergies and all that stuff. So you have to know the basics.
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  And that's why I give you an 8 week checklist, which you can
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  find in the show notes on things that I feel that you should know
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  when you're starting out in CT for the very first time.
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  And especially if you're a new technologist, you really need a
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  guide to know how to execute those things.
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  OK, now it's not your fault that you weren't taught correctly,
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  OK? But it is your fault if you
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  choose to stay stuck there and not do anything about it.
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  I can't tell you how many times I have worked at different
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  institutions where techs fail to improve, you know, their
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  scanning abilities to learn the new trends, learn the latest and
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  greatest, to get more education, to go to the seminars, to, you
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  know, learn something because they say, oh, well, this is the
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  way it's done. This is how we're going to do
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  it. And I don't need to know
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  anything else. Now.
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  Our technology is constantly evolving.
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  It is constantly changing and things change, especially with,
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  you know, faster scanners, different kinds of protocols,
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  protocols being added, new things being added, you know,
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  things that are getting taken away from X-ray and coming to
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  CT. OK, When was the last time you
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  saw an IVP done? OK, the last time I saw an IVP
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  done was probably 20 plus years ago when I was working in X-ray.
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  OK, I've been in tech for 23 years, so it was probably about
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  20 years ago. CT has taken that on.
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  We do urograms, we do histograms, so we have taken
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  that on. When was the last time you saw a
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  mandible, an X-ray done? Now, I'm not saying that they
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  aren't done, but how often are they done?
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  You know why? Because CT has taken that over.
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  So it's really important to invest in your continuing
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  education, in your knowledge and staying up to date with the
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  latest trends. I can't tell you how many
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  technologists I've met over my entire career that choose to
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  stay stuck. And then they wonder why they
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  can't advance into anything because you're not willing to
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  put yourself out there. Invest in yourself to learn
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  something and you really should. That is the name of the game.
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  Like if you want to stay stuff, that is a personal choice.
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  But I know there's a lot of room for growth and for improvement
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  and to move on to excel and to things that you have a passion
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  for or things that might light you up.
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  OK, what lights me up is doing this podcast.
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  What lights me up is teaching. What lights me up is going on
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  TikTok and giving you that educational information that you
• 11:13
  need to know because it actually helps people.
• 11:15
  Can't tell you how many times in my DMS and in my comments about
• 11:18
  people who appreciate and praise that I give out this information
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  because it's so helpful. So think about it like that, OK?
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  It is your fault if you choose to stay stuck and not, you know,
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  leave room for growth, OK? It's not your fault that you
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  weren't taught correctly because there are texts that are
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  training the newer ones coming in and the training is shit.
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  And I hate to say that, but that's the truth.
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  So we're going to be honest on this podcast and there is room
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  for improvement on that. And us as a community need to
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  just, you know, get involved in improve the situation, OK,
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  because that's what it takes to make this community just
• 12:00
  wonderful. And there's a lot of room for
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  growth and just elevate things so that we are seeing.
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  OK, So those are my talking points for this podcast episode.
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  Like I said, everything that I discussed and as far as where to
• 12:15
  find things, everything will be in the show notes as far as any
• 12:18
  courses that I whole that I that Ioffer that I sell.
• 12:24
  Sorry, where you can follow me on social media TikTok.
• 12:29
  Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel My eight Week
• 12:32
  checklist that is there for you and it's available free so you
• 12:36
  can get on my e-mail list. And you will know exactly when I
• 12:38
  drop podcast episodes, when I drop YouTube videos, and when I
• 12:41
  drop the latest TikTok videos that are important, right?
• 12:48
  So make sure that you guys check out the show notes and make sure
• 12:52
  you follow me on social, subscribe to this podcast, share
• 12:54
  this episode with somebody that needs to hear it because a lot
• 12:57
  of people need to hear it. OK, So thank you so much for
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  joining me in this episode and I will chat with you guys next
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  week.