More than a button-pusher; the life of a radiographer 

Most people couldn't tell you what a radiographer actually does. Hidden away in dark rooms, confining patients with heavy machinery and running away mid-X-ray, how important can a radiographer's job really be? 

 

Maha Cheema, a diagnostic radiographer, at the Royal Free Hospital, is well aware of this lack of knowledge about her profession. Laughing about being mistaken for a nurse many times by patients, Maha says: "Patients don't even know what we are, the medical term...people are not familiar with the profession or even the word radiography."

 

But Maha knows her job is crucial. The job of a radiographer is very dynamic. They have the ability to let patients hear their unborn baby's heartbeat for the first time or might be the first professional to learn of cancer forming in a patient. Explaining this, Maha says: "For my profession, it involves a lot of things, not just X-rays. Nowadays, there are so many imaging techniques used to diagnose a patient." 

 

For example, carrying out X-rays for patients in surgery has allowed Maha to learn about procedures during surgery and for recovering patients: "If you're a radiographer you're not just working in the imaging department you can be told to go into ICU to take X-rays in theater rooms. You learn a lot; you're not just pressing buttons. There is so much more to it."

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Although radiographers aren't medical doctors by definition, they have specialized training in diagnosing various injuries and diseases through different X-rays. For Maha, many health care professionals aren't able to carry out their job safely without the help of radiographers.  

 

Illustrating this, she says: "If a doctor makes a mistake, I can call them out on it."

Maha explains that before a patient is exposed to an X-ray, doctors have to justify their request. As a radiographer, Maha's job is to either approve or reject a doctor's X-ray request. Maha explains that she even helps doctors with requests if needed: "Doctors and nurses don't even know the ins and outs of imaging, so they ask us for clarification." 

 

Radiographers were also part of the frontline healthcare professionals, treating Covid patients whilst the rest of the world was in lockdown. 

 

As a radiographer, Maha's main struggle was the Covid patients that were in intensive care units: "The number of portable X-rays we did increased significantly. That was one of the reasons we were extremely exhausted." 

 

Maha wasn't alone in feeling this strain during Covid. A study by the European Society of Radiology found that: 40% of radiographers reported burnout symptoms due to the Covid crisis, and 30% considered changing jobs or retiring since the Covid outbreak.   

 

For Maha, her work allows her to combine her love of technology and caring for patients. Speaking about the impact that technology has on patient care, Maha says, "It's fascinating how in less than one second you are obtaining images to diagnose patients."

 

However, Maha gets frustrated by some restrictions she has as a radiographer. In particular, a protocol prohibiting her from diagnosing a patient during a scan, even when it's clear what the issue is. According to this protocol, a radiographer's role is to ensure the scan happens safely. If the scan shows the patient is suffering from anything, it's the doctor's job to diagnose the patient.

 

Maha feels that this protocol shouldn't be in place because: "I have done those three years of university [a Bachelor's degree in radiography], for a reason - I know what is wrong because this is what I was examined on in university." Maha feels that this regulation even impacts her interaction with patients: "It makes me feel so dumb in front of the patient." 

 

Another purpose for this protocol is that a doctor has a better understanding of the patient. Radiographers don't have that time to build rapport with their patients, as Maha herself pointed out: "in a day, I see 100-150 patients." 

 

However, this doesn't stop Maha from showing empathy. Speaking about patients, clearly in distress, she says: "In that time I take a step back from my radiographer role and be there for the patient like a normal human being. Sometimes I even let them talk throughout the X-ray, and I keep on reassuring them."

 

Maha began her journey into radiography by completing a three-year BSC in radiography at City University. After this degree, Maha chose between therapeutic radiography, which helps treat cancer patients, and diagnostic radiography, which is the use of radiation to produce images and diagnose diseases and injuries. Maha chose to work as a diagnostic radiographer because she felt it was more dynamic than therapeutic. 

 

Maha started working as a radiographer as soon as she completed her university course, as it was the best option to progress further in her career. Illustrating this progression, Maha states: "I used to be a band 5 radiographer, and now I'm a band 6 radiographer. So now I'll be CT trained as well as interventional and cardiology imaging training, which I'm really looking forward to."

 

Being a band 6 radiographer means that Maha is responsible for the supervision and progression of junior colleagues: "Even though I've only been working for a year, I'm already a mentor for some many new starters, and that's all because I know what I'm doing." 

 

Being CT trained means Maha can now carry out CT (computerized tomography) scans, which are much more detailed than an average X-ray as they show a 3D view of the specific section of the body being studied. 

 

Maha feels that her role as a radiographer, first and foremost, is looking after patients under her. Describing the importance of patient care in her job, she says: "If you don't like working with people, then this course really isn't for you. You need to be willing to help people and patients under your care."