12-11-11 week

This week was my last week of clinicals, before the winter break. I will have finals next week, but right now I am enjoying some days off with my family.

12-3-11 week

This week we had a potluck with the junior students. It was great to meet our colleges, and I tried to give them good advice about the clinical site and other classes. We will start the finals next week, so I have to study a lot.

11-25-11

This week was the Thanksgiving week, and I had a four day weekend. I needed every minute of it, since I had a bad cold, and I took one day off school.
I presented my last case study about three cases, with testicular pathology. In clinicals, I was at PCH for one day and one day at the vein clinic.

11-12-11 week

This week we had Friday off for Veterans' Day. I enjoyed the day with my family. The rest of the week I spent at the Vein Clinic, and next week I will go back to PCH. I missed the techs from PCH and all the children.

11-6-11 week

This week I had two tests and I did OK at both. I did not have enough time to study, so I can get a better grade. Too many assignments, that do not allow me to concentrate at studying. Two days I spent at PCH for my clinical rotation, and I day at the Vein Clinic. I like both locations, and the Vein Clinic has a potential job opening. Right now I am learning their protocol and the machines, but they would like me to go there two days a week, possibly three.

10-29-11 week

This week I was able to pass my carotid scanning test in the lab, and I was very happy about it. We had a potluck at school to celebrate Bryan's birthday.
My clinicals were great as usual, at PCH.

My case study was about a breast cyst in a newborn boy.

10-22-11 Week

This week we learned about Segmental Pressure Equipment, and I was the patient. I realized how painful is to have cuffs over your legs.
In clinicals, I share my time between PCH and JCL. I got to learn new tricks from the techs and I am very thankful to be at these two sites.
I presented a case about adrenal gland hemorhage in a newborn.

10-15-11 week

This week we scan more venous legs in lab, and I posted a case study about Baker's Cyst Aspiration. In clinicals I went to PCH for two days and to JCL for one. I scanned more renal studies and some neonatal heads on Monday. Very interesting week.

10-8-2011 week

This week we had two tests: one on DMS 210(vascular), and one on DMS 235(breast U/S). I think I did OK, but I haven't seen the final results. I am still at PCH and I love it. I scan and see a lot of new exams, and I learn a lot every day. The techs are very nice and knowledgeable, especially Pat. I will work with her next week for one day or so.
In lab we continued with our leg venous studies and I am getting better.

10-1-2011 week

This week we continued to scan venous legs in the lab, and during my clinical days I continued rotating to PCH, which is my favorite spot so far. I am waiting for Pat to come back from her vacation of three weeks, so I can scan more with her. She loves to teach me, so I am planning to follow her as much as possible.

9-27-11 week

This week we scanned carotids in the lab, and we started venous legs. I tested on the carotids, but I failed my first try. I hope I will pass it next time.

In clinicals, I was at PCH, where I love it. I get to scan and observe a lot of interesting cases. I wish I can get a job at their hospital.

09-17-11 week

This week we had our first test for DMS 290. I did OK, only missed 4. I spent my clinical days at PCH, and I love it. I went to the McDowell campus twice this week, and scanned newborn babies. I scanned neonate heads, spines, and abdomen. I saw an omphalocele, and an absent corpus callosum.
At school we scanned carotids and we will test next week on carotids.
My case study was on hematometrocolpos on a 14 year old girl.

09-10-11 week

This week I went to PCH for two days and I love it. I see a lot of interesting cases and all the techs are very eager to teach and to let me scan.
I would work there if I get a job offer. Today I saw couple of spine studies, and I learned the basic of counting vertebrae from the bottom up and from the top down.
In school we study the criteria for carotids, and mammography.
We have a lot of projects that are due for every class, so I am overwhelmed at this point.

09-02-2011 week

This week was great. In lab we worked on the carotids, and I am getting faster and hopefully better at my scanning. In class we continued with high risk OB, breast, advanced ( Transcranial Doppler) and in case studies I submitted a kidney stones study.

In clinicals I started going to Phoenix Children's Hospital and I love it, so far. The techs are very nice and friendly, and the cases are interesting. I got to scan a little bit and I hope to scan more. I saw a head U/S, a hip U/S and a lot of limited abdomens, looking for either pyloric stenosis or intussuseption. I haven't seen a positive one, yet.
The attached image represents a complete occlusion of the IJV, and I will present it in cases studies class next week.

8-28-11 week

I started classes this week and it is so good to see all my classmates. We started Advanced Procedures, High Risk OB, Breast US, Vascular Procedures, Case Studies and lab for Vascular class.
This week I scanned carotid in the lab, and it is good to realize that I am doing OK with it. I still need more practice, but it feels good to realize that I am doing great with it.

8-19-2011 week

This is my last week of 40 hours/week in clinicals. I will start classes next week, and I am looking forward to learning new things. I spent this week at JCL and scan as much as possible.

8-13-11

This week was my last week of the OB rotation. I will miss both Beth and Ana, as they spend a lot of time teaching me how to scan OB. Thank you both!

8-6-11 week

This week I scan more OB and enjoy every second of it. I love scanning OB, and I will look for a job that has a lot of OB as part of it. I got to scan twins and do a lot of biophysical profiles.

07-30-2011 week

This week was spent perfecting my scanning techniques for both OB, abdomen, and vascular. I started scanning more carotid studies.

07-23-2011 week

Half way through the OB rotation, and I got to be part of a case study discussion among the perinatalogists about some interesting cases. Some of the fetuses had heart defects and some of the information was brand new to me.

07-16-2011 week

My OB experience continues, as I learn more about this area of ultrasound. I enjoy scanning fetuses, and seeing their movements and actions. I saw a 3D ultrasound of the baby's face. The few cases that have pathology were: uretheral obstruction, with polycystic kidney disease, and hydrocephalus. The doctor told the patient that the baby with polycystic kidneys will most likely not survive.

7-9-11 week

After my one week off I came back for a 36 hours week. I went to Pinetop and I hiked around the woods. It was great to spend some time with my family and exercise.
This week was great at St Joe's. I got to scan a lot more, since Beth was off this week. I got to see an amniocentesis procedure.

06-25-11 week

This is the last week before our one week vacation. I am sharing my time between St Joe's and JCL, and I enjoy it. I am gaining some confidence about my OB scanning, but I need a lot more practice.

06-18-2011 week

This week I am going 16 hours to St Joe's and 24 hours at JCL-North Mountain. I love learning about hight risk OB. Beth and Ana are very useful and they let me scan as much as possible.

6-11-11 week

My last week of 40 hours/week at JCL-North Mountain. Next week I will start at St Joe's Outpatient Center, for my OB rotation. I am looking forward to scanning pregnant women.
This week I worked more with the techs on getting better at all exams. I love going to the hospital on Saturdays, since I see more OB cases, and other unusual cases, like a TRUS prostate, and interesting pelvic cases.

6-4-11 week

We had one day off for Memorial Day on Monday and the rest of the week I was at JCL-North Mountain. I worked a lot on interventional cases: paracentesis, thoracentesis, and FNA's.

5-28-11 week

This was my first week of 40 hours/ week at the hospital. I got to see and do a lot of cases, mostly renal, abdomen, venous studies.

Two weeks off

We had two weeks off until 5-23-11. I took the opportunity to study for the SPI exam. My examination is scheduled on 5-31-11 at 8am. I managed to pass the exam on my first try with a score of 94%.

5-6-11 week

This was the last week of school, before our two weeks off. We had finals this week in school, and two days of clinicals. In clinicals I work more on my protocol on Venous Legs, trying to perfect the sequence of images that I take for the radiologist.

04-29-2011 week

This week we completed all the material on DMS 130, and we are getting ready for the final. Our last case study is about the prostate cancer, and we are trying to find some time to complete that assignment as well. In clinicals I am trying to get as much scanning time, but at times I find it to be difficult to scan, because the department is quite busy. Today I performed couple of paracentesis exams, and I assisted with others. I sure hope to get hired at the end of my rotation.

04-22-2011 week

This week I have started scanning carotid exams. I find them challenging, and I will need more practice. In school, we studied more fetal abdomen in the DMS 130 class, and Doppler in physics.
I am studying for the upcoming finals and I have to organize my time wisely so I can get all the studying done on time.

04-15-11 week

This week we started to study Doppler effect in school ,an we had a lab outside, studying the effect with all of us lined up on the lawn.
At the clinical site, I was able to comp on the testicular study, which is rare, at our site. I still have to comp on the breast and all the OB. I started doing a lot of invasive procedures, like paracentesis and thoracentesis.

04-08-11 week

This week I learning to scan carotid exams at the clinical site. I find it challenging to align the vessels, and obtain a good Doppler signal. I know it takes practice and I am willing to try it again, and get better at it.
I school, we studied fetal head and brain. I can't wait to go to an OB site so I can scan OB cases.

04-01-11 Week

During this week we learned about the fetal head and brain, we worked on our future presentations, and we learned about artifacts in physics. During my clinical hours, I scanned abdomens, pelvis, and I am still looking for a testicular or a breast study. I am enjoying my clinical site and I am looking forward to going to clinicals every week.

03-25-11 Week

After a relaxing spring break, we went back to school. The week went by very fast, but fruitfull. We presented our case about renal cell carcinoma on Monday, and then got another one about carotid body tumor. During the physics lab, we took another practice test. During my three days of clinicals I scanned a lot of vascular studies and abdomens.

03-18-11 Week

The week between the 03-14 and 03-18 was spring break. I enjoyed it by relaxing at home with my family.

3-11-2011 week

This week we had to present our case study about the ultrasound guided craniotomy. It was a very interesting case, that I got to observe in the OR. The presentation went well, and the nest case will be about renal cell carcinoma. I have to prepare the etiology and pathophysiology of the disease. At the physics lab we took a test, that prove to be harder than we anticipated. I plan to study physics over the spring break, so I get prepared for the upcoming boards. At the clinical site, I scan pelvic exams, both transabdominal and endovaginal. It take a lot of practice for me to obtain good images of the ovaries. I have practiced to find some good windows for the kidneys, especially the left one.

3-4-11 week

This week was just as busy as the previous one. We had a test on Monday, and I did pretty well, and the rest of the week was packed with studying, preparation for the case study presentation, and clinicals. At my clinical site I was able to scan more, and I started to scan more venous legs, and assist with invasive procedures, such as thoracentesis, paracentesis and biopsies.
As we enter the month of March , I realize that I only have two months until this semester ends and I need to complete all my competencies. I try to get at least 2 every week, if possible, so I don't stress out towards the end.

2-25-11 week

This week was a busy one, even without school on Monday. I feel overwhelmed with so many school projects and not enough time to study. At the hospital I started scanning venous legs and I am working on developing my own routine and order of images. I love what I do and where I am at, the techs are impressed with my attitude of trying new things and they encourage me to scan more. I hope to get better at the venous studies, since we get so many of them.

02-18-2011 week

This week in clinicals I got to scan more. The techs have been trusting me more, and I have been scanning abdomen and renal studies. I enjoy being at John C Lincoln Medical Center because of all the interesting cases and the helpful techs. I work mostly with Earl, Amy and Kay, and they all been very kind to me and willing to teach me the ropes. The most interesting case I have seen was the renal vein thrombosis in an 80 year old female. I did not find it, my preceptor found the pathology, but I scanned most of the other organs.

In the physics lab, we looked at the elevational resolution and we measured it by looking at dental floss in a bowl of water.

02-12-2011 week

I the physics lab, we measured for the lateral resolution, using an AIUM test object and we determined that it varies with the focus, depth, frequency and type of the transducer used.
This week was my first week at my new clinical rotation: John C Lincoln Medical Center. The drive was not as bad as I thought, and the employees are very nice. The techs that I work with mostly are Earl, Amy and Kay. The most interesting case that I got to see was a craniotomy in the OR. We placed the hockey stick transducer, right on the brain, after a piece of skull was removed, and we imaged the tumor, that was right underneath the pia mater. It was very interesting, and I would like to see more of these cases.

Feb 4th 2011 clinical week

I completed another week at SMIL, and I learned that I will be moved to another clinical site, because SMIL asked for just one student. I will be going to John C Lincoln Medical Center, probably starting next week. I am looking forward to learning how to scan the inpatient patient population, and all of the acute ER patients. I embrace this change and I will do my best at learning quickly the protocols, and all the tech preferences.

Clinical rotation 1-29-2011

This week I did not scan as much as I would have wanted, and on Friday I felt aprehensive about an abdomen study, because the tech was in the room with me while I was scanning, and she kept saying" No, don't take that", but she did not tell me why or how to improve it, so I decided for the sake of time, to hand her the probe and let her finish the exam. She came to me after the exam and asked me why was I hesitant in the room. I found it hard to express my true feelings, because I did not want to start a conflict. I am sure that by now, the techs have higher expectations of me, and I cannot come across as stand-off-ish. I will try harder to be more assertive, and display more confidence.

Clinical rotation 1-21-2011

Today concludes our first week of 2 day school and 3 day clinicals schedule. It is more challenging to do both, but it makes it more interesting, because we learn about OB/Gyn in class and we get to apply it in clinicals as we go along. I took Friday off, due to flu like symptoms, and I hope to get better by next week, on Wednesday. I have enjoyed being in clinicals this past two days and I am getting to be more comfortable scanning. I have seen a lot more pathology this week, and it is helpful to correlate it to our lectures. Some examples include: large liver cysts, pleural effusion, renal tumor, etc.

January 14th 2011, after my fourth week in clinicals

Today we end another 2 week course of clinical hours. I have spent most of my time either scanning or observing the ultrasound procedures at SMIL, Mountain View office. I got a chance to work with most of the techs, and I like most of them. They are all different and I am doing my best at learning how to interact with all of them. Some of them like me to start scanning and they scan after me, and finish the exam, while others prefer to scan first and then, if time allows, I get to scan. I am not sure, yet which one of these two approaches I like best, but I am glad when I get to scan at all. Sometimes, there is a time limit, or the patient is in a hurry, so I do not have a chance to scan, but most of the time I try to fit in some scanning time.

Jan 07 2011, after my third full week in clinicals

At the end of my third full week in clinicals, I feel better about my scanning, and I am sure it will only get better. But I still struggle with the abdomen studies on larger patients, and with the fact that some of the techs are not willing to teach us. I will have to stick to the ones that are willing to show me the ropes, and guide me on this path of learning.