Research & Key Terms (10)
1. First Aid: Having basic first aid knowledge is useful to keep patients, team members, &
myself safe due to the capability of improving the conditions of injuries. First Aid is a type
of care practice with a goal of treating injuries to prevent the injuries from getting worse.
An example at work would include if a patient accidentally pulls out their IV, I would have
the knowledge to put pressure on the bleeding wound.
2. CPR is very useful to know due to it’s life saving capabilities. CPR is a lifesaving act that
is used on individuals whose hearts have stopped beating. This is a must know when
working in any type of medical facility because patients, and even coworkers, can have,
for example, a sudden heart attack. Utilizing CPR can save their lives.
3. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): defined as protective garments to warn off
hazards. PPE is integrated into my daily work because when portable x-rays need to be
done on patients labeled with airborne or contact precautions, PPE helps me in
protecting myself, other patients that I will be in contact with, and my coworkers from
whatever illnesses the patient might have.
4. Lead Shielding: Protection against radiation. Due to myself working with x-rays, I need to
be conscientious of scatter radiation. When taking an x-ray of a patient, I always put a
lead shield on the patients to ensure that they receive the lowest dose of radiation
possible. Also, in OR before I shoot with the C-arm, I have to make sure that everyone in
the room is covered with lead apron shields to make sure nobody is getting
unnecessarily exposed.
5. ALARA: As low as reasonably achievable. ALARA is a principle that is embedded into
my mind while I attended my Radiologic Technology program that describes the fact that
my goal when taking radiographs is to not overexpose the patient. With this in mind,
despite the fact that my hospital has the machines that automatically set up techniques, I
always adjust those techniques according to patient body habitus, to avoid repeats or
over exposure. Also, when doing portables, I have to keep in mind the other personnel
that are around my portable x-ray machine. I would yell out, “x-ray,” to ensure that
everyone has time to walk away before I press the exposure button.
6. Verification: Defined as ensuring the correct information about a patient. This is vital for
the patients in order to double check that what the doctor has ordered, correlates with
what the patient is having issues about. Also, verifying patient ID is also crucial to ensure
that a patient doesn’t get unnecessary radiographs done on them.
7. Patient Care Quality: Defined as the care that is necessary to properly take care of
patients. I feel that this is a key safety term due to the fact that as healthcare team
members, we should remember that our job is to not only treat the wounds the patients
might have, but also to make sure they feel cared for.
8. Organization: defined as the act of arranging certain documentations or work in a helpful
way. I believe that organization is a key safety term because while working at a trauma
hospital, it is sometimes easy to get caught up into answering the phone calls while
helping patients, as well as doing reductions on the side can cause major stress. Staying
organized overall helps the mental health of the employee which will inturn, help the
patient because the tech is doing better.
9. Initiative: Defined as having the ability to act out tasks without being told to do so. I feel
that this is a key safety term because it is vital for healthcare workers to collaborate
effectively in order to achieve high quality patient care. For example, if there is an
inpatient that needs to be radiographed but the inpatient is unable to go down to the
radiology department, we will take the initiative to do all of the radiographs portably with
the help of either the nurses or doctors.
10. Attentiveness: Defined as the characterization of listening and giving attention. I believe
that this is a key safety term to keep patients, team members, and myself safe due to the
act of being attentive and ensuring that everybody in the medical team collaborates and
understands the patients needs and wants.