Radiograph of the Week

...Trauma

"Why do x-rays take so long?"

Normally, I don't speak much about too many personal things here, but I couldn't pass this story up knowing you would appreciate it.  I just put my son to bed (he's 5) and this was our conversation:

Son:  Hey Daddy... why do x-rays take so long?

Me:  They don't take that long... don't you remember when I took you for x-rays when you broke your arm?

Son:  No... I broke my arm?!

Me:  Yep.  You fell at home and I took you to the hospital I worked at and held you in my lap while someone else took x-rays of your arm.  It only took a couple of minutes.

Son:  But you're gone all day long when you take yours!  I thought you just sit in front of the thing that takes the x-rays and then you look at your bones.

Me:  Well, lots of people need x-rays every day.  Sometimes we do about 200 x-rays every day on lots of people that need them because they are hurt or sick.  That can take all day.

Son:  Oh... I thought you just take your own x-rays of yourself all day and come home.

I would hate to see me radiation badge reading if he was right!

Contest to Win Kindle Becoming a Radiologic Technologist Extended

To start off launch week for my book, Becoming a Radiologic Technologist, I will be giving away a few things throughout the week.  The first giveaway starts today - a copy of the Kindle eBook edition is up for grabs by following me @TopicsInRadiogr on Twitter and Retweeting my contest announcement tweet:

CLICK HERE TO ENTER

One winner will be randomly selected after the contest ends, which I have extended until 8:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Tuesday night, July 17 and announced via Twitter.  Click here for a glance at the prize!  Don't have a Kindle reader?  That's okay... download a free Kindle app here:

Five Ways to Find Radiologic Technologist Jobs

In today's job market, it definitely helps to know people.  If you have been in the field for a while or if you are just getting out of x-ray school, you probably hear things through the rumor mill about upcoming opportunities at the local hospitals and imaging centers.  But what if you are new to an area, or you just don't happen to know many people?  Thankfully, the internet provides three great ways you can stay ahead of the game when it comes to finding work as a radiologic technologist.

Craigslist App - You can now download an app for your smart phone to browse Craigslist.  This is great for times when you're looking for cheap tools or a used car, but you can also look for local jobs on Craigslist, or specify cities that you would be willing to relocate to.  Most of the jobs you will find are in smaller facilities, private doctor's offices and stand-alone imaging clinics.  The reason I am mentioning the app instead of just the website is because you can receive regular updates with search items of your choice, and you don't even have to use the search tool.  Just open the app and view your most recent search results!

Facebook - If you aren't doing it already, you should "like" the local hospitals and imaging centers within a distance you would be willing to drive.  This gives you a way to get regular updates from their pages without having to visit several sites individually.  Just log into your Facebook news feed and scroll for updates on job listings and chat sessions with recruiters.

Google Alerts - This option is also great for anyone who is looking for news, trends, and jobs.  Simply place a search term like "radiologic technologist" into the search query, specify how often you want these results and how many results you would like to see.  Google will email you whatever new links their search engines find.  You can do this with as many terms that you like, and it's free.

Twitter - This option is great for those who are willing to relocate.  At least once a day, do a search for #radiologic or #technologist.  You will be amazed at the amount of job offers that are posted there... again, it's definitely good to follow the local hospitals on twitter, but if you're the adventurous type you can find jobs across the country and even internationally.  It's a great networking tool that many underestimate for professional value.

LinkedIn - This is more of a social media style site for professionals.  Think of it as Facebook for industry.  I know a lot of you probably already know about LinkedIn, but most people do not take advantage of the "groups" sections.  Jobs are posted on these groups multiple times per day and they are easy to forget about because you have to actively search for groups and their message boards.  Again, a great option for searching for local jobs and jobs that you would have to relocate for, but the networking capabilities are endless.  I have recently caught up with several people from my very first x-ray job on LinkedIn.

If you have any thoughts or suggestions for the job hunt, I would love to hear about them.  I also discuss the current job market in great detail in my new book Becoming a Radiologic Techologist.

Becoming a Radiologic Technologist NOW AVAILABLE

Do you have questions about radiography program admission requirements, tuition, accreditation, and other details? If you're a student, I'm sure you have had many of these questions, including what is expected of them by instructors, staff technologists and clinical affiliates. Instructors receive these questions all the time. Being an instructor myself, I know how often these questions arise; even after program orientation. In fact, it has been my number-one type of question online since starting my blog, Topics in Radiography, in 2007. Until now, I have been unable to find a single resource to address all of these common questions. What I have found is a lot of misinformation from internet marketers about how to become an “x-ray technician”. 

That’s why I decided to write a book for people interested in exploring the field of radiography that has all of the answers they need in one convenient location. It was just published this week, and I want you to have the first chance at purchasing this resource at a reduced price. Becoming a Radiologic Technologist addresses common issues for career researchers like: 

• Myths about what technologists do (we don’t just push a button) 
• Types of radiography programs available 
• How to apply for school and requirements 
• Researching proper accreditation, pass rates, employment rates and the current job market 

It also addresses some of the more common issues seen with first year students that may require additional time and attention from faculty such as: 

• Professionalism, social media and legal matters 
• Expectations for workload in the classroom and at the clinical site (the two-year job interview) 
• Skills, strategies and etiquette needed for success 

I also offer a glimpse into the future for students regarding: 

• Preparing for the ARRT registry exam and job searching 
• Career pathways and advanced educational opportunities 

Unlike many career research tools, I have included some first-hand experiences from the past 15 years to make the reading easier for students to digest without sounding like a textbook. I also published this book with the goal of an honest, straight-forward assessment of how competitive the job market is today and why our field will need to continue to grow over the next ten years. 

Becoming a Radiologic Technologist is available in paperback print and Kindle editions. I would like to offer a promotional code for the print edition, which is normally $15.99 for the Kindle price of $9.99 by typing in the coupon code, LBDZNK39 during checkout. This offer is valid for a limited time and will expire on Friday, July 20. Just visit https://www.createspace.com/3925385. 

Find more information here: http://becomingaradiologictechnologist.blogspot.com. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions, or if you would like to learn more about affiliate opportunities. Kindle promotional offers coming soon... please subscribe to my Topics in Radiography monthly newsletter for updates:

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Becoming a Radiologic Technologist Launch

In the recent months, a lot of my efforts have been spent with the completion of my book Becoming a Radiologic Technologist.  I am pleased to say that the official launch will happen next week.  I am still proofing some versions of the book, but some are ready for release.  


I have received a lot of questions about why I am releasing a book like this now, and that's why I am giving away the first two chapters for free.  Chapter 2 will explore where the job market currently is with data and statistics, which support my opinions expressed later in the chapter.  You can sample the first two chapters here, and the first versions will be available via pdf document and amazon kindle.  To view other formats that will soon be available including hard copy print format, please visit here.


Additional information can be found at http://becomingaradiologictechnologist.blogspot.com.  As always, if you have any questions or comments, I'm happy to hear them.  


***If you're interested in partnering with me as an affiliate, please contact me.