Playing Contract Killer on my Android phone...just taking a few minutes to relax before heading to the deep end of the pool!
It's the last push for the semester. Formal instruction has ended, so we're down to finals week. It seems that everything gets squished and crowded into the very end. Last week, I had a quiz and a positioning lab midterm on Monday, a midterm in my positioning class on Wednesday, and a big physics paper due yesterday, while I'm still trying to get all my position competencies signed off in clinical. (I'm also trying to make-up all the missed clinical hours I've accrued over the semester, so I'm doing an extra two hours per shift till the end of the semester!) This upcoming week, I've got my positioning lab final on Monday, an image analysis in clinic on Tuesday, and my positioning final on Friday!
I've actually escaped my physics final exam. I've done so well over the semester, that I've elected to drop the final as my test grade to drop, since I've scored 90+ marks for the other three midterms. My first two midterm scores were 92% and 96%. The professor actually physically lost my third midterm exam, but offered me a 91%, since he was confident that I would've achieved an A anyway. I thought that was pretty fair, since I knew for certain that I answered the last question wrong. So I was excused from taking the final, which sits fantastically with me! More time to study for the other stuffs.
For the positioning lab final, there's over 120 possible positions I could be asked to demonstrate (within a six-minute time frame), plus I have to know all the evaluation criteria accompanying each position, but I'll actually only draw two exams out of a hat. I've got my Thermarest mattress pad set up on my coffee table and a stack of re-purposed X-ray cassettes ready to help me practice the different exams on my wife this weekend! Once I'm done with Monday, the rest of the week should be cake!
My last test is Friday morning. I'll be headed out for a beer and a phat lunch afterward to shake off the nerves and to congratulate myself on a semester well executed!
A collection of blurbs stemming from mostly the motorized projects that I do. Some posts mixed in have to do with my experiences in X-ray school. (Some entries are from older blogs that I killed off.) Some of my toys are a Mazdaspeed Miata that I work on and take to the track, a little Harley that I can't stop modding and an old Yamaha RD400 that I've been collecting parts for over the past 15 years. When I'm not wrenching, sometimes I mountain bike, sometimes I snowboard, sometimes I make beer.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
It's Getting Better All The Time
This semester is just flying by! Only a couple more weeks and I'm on break- and not a minute too soon! It's actually pretty cool, as I look back on the progression that took place over the past few months.
When I first started working at the "home" hospital, I was totally not digging it- the techs were aggressive, rude and intimidating. It was difficult to work with any of them. In general, they don't like [new] students, because they don't know anything, make lots of mistakes and take up a lot of valuable time. I dreaded having to go to my shift. Hand-holding is part of their job, but they hate it. As time went on, I learned more in class, things started making more sense in clinical and I got better. The techs since really warmed up to me. Maybe it's because I'm getting proficient and require little supervision. Perhaps it's that silly goatee that I've got going on my chin that's getting me respect as a real person (instead of a faceless student). (Side note- the beard is my prayer to the snow gods to bring BIG snow in Tahoe. Once the season is underway, the beard goes.) Nowadays, I'm actually looking forward to my shifts! I'm really feeling like part of the staff now.
Come January, it'll be time for my first rotation. I'll be headed to a Kaiser facility in the South Bay for two months. It should be interesting putting my knowledge from County to the test. The big difference will be that Kaiser doesn't run film- everything is digital- either CR or DR. But positioning is positioning. I'm confident I should do fine. On the flip side, another student will be filling my shoes at County for two months, and she is not very good. At her home hospital, she doesn't get to do much, since their volume is low. Plus she suffers from a lack of confidence, always unsure of her positioning and constantly fiddling with the settings of the X-ray tube. I'm worried that the techs at my hospital are going to make her cry. For sure, they're going to expect her to be able to perform some exams on her own, since she's already had a few months of experience somewhere else. If she can survive County, it will be an excellent opportunity for her to get back on track and get her learning curve caught up with the rest of the class.
Other news. I just took my third physics midterm. I'm fairly certain that I got another A on the test, which means that I won't have to show up for the final, since we get to drop our lowest exam score, which means that I don't have to show up for class anymore. Yay! So my physics class is effectively done for the semester, except for one last paper I have to write within the next week. That extra time will be useful, as I will need extra time to study for my positioning final.
It's December and we still haven't had a big dump in Tahoe yet! My wife is really hating this beard! But I vowed to keep it on till I get my first day of snowboarding in. Actually, it's nice to have the extra time for my foot to heal. I can't believe it still hurts from that motorcycle spill that happened like six weeks ago! I must've injured it more than I realized.
When I first started working at the "home" hospital, I was totally not digging it- the techs were aggressive, rude and intimidating. It was difficult to work with any of them. In general, they don't like [new] students, because they don't know anything, make lots of mistakes and take up a lot of valuable time. I dreaded having to go to my shift. Hand-holding is part of their job, but they hate it. As time went on, I learned more in class, things started making more sense in clinical and I got better. The techs since really warmed up to me. Maybe it's because I'm getting proficient and require little supervision. Perhaps it's that silly goatee that I've got going on my chin that's getting me respect as a real person (instead of a faceless student). (Side note- the beard is my prayer to the snow gods to bring BIG snow in Tahoe. Once the season is underway, the beard goes.) Nowadays, I'm actually looking forward to my shifts! I'm really feeling like part of the staff now.
Come January, it'll be time for my first rotation. I'll be headed to a Kaiser facility in the South Bay for two months. It should be interesting putting my knowledge from County to the test. The big difference will be that Kaiser doesn't run film- everything is digital- either CR or DR. But positioning is positioning. I'm confident I should do fine. On the flip side, another student will be filling my shoes at County for two months, and she is not very good. At her home hospital, she doesn't get to do much, since their volume is low. Plus she suffers from a lack of confidence, always unsure of her positioning and constantly fiddling with the settings of the X-ray tube. I'm worried that the techs at my hospital are going to make her cry. For sure, they're going to expect her to be able to perform some exams on her own, since she's already had a few months of experience somewhere else. If she can survive County, it will be an excellent opportunity for her to get back on track and get her learning curve caught up with the rest of the class.
Other news. I just took my third physics midterm. I'm fairly certain that I got another A on the test, which means that I won't have to show up for the final, since we get to drop our lowest exam score, which means that I don't have to show up for class anymore. Yay! So my physics class is effectively done for the semester, except for one last paper I have to write within the next week. That extra time will be useful, as I will need extra time to study for my positioning final.
It's December and we still haven't had a big dump in Tahoe yet! My wife is really hating this beard! But I vowed to keep it on till I get my first day of snowboarding in. Actually, it's nice to have the extra time for my foot to heal. I can't believe it still hurts from that motorcycle spill that happened like six weeks ago! I must've injured it more than I realized.
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