My main task is scanning patients, using ultrasound. They could be inpatients at the hospital, referred from the Emergency Room, or sent in by GP’s in the community. I will assess the request, which will contain the clinical details, what is wrong with the patient, relevant blood tests, history of trauma/pain, etc. It will also contain the time-frame (acuity) that the referrer would like the scan done within. I will then assign an appointment for the patient.

Different scans will require various preparations. For instance, if the scan is of the abdomen, the patient will need to ‘fast’ for 8 hours beforehand. Pelvis scans require the patient to fill their bladder. This information will be put on the requisition, and the bookings person will convey that information to the patient.

If the scan is an emergency, no preparation will be required. These patients will need to be assessed ASAP.

The scan itself is most often associated with pregnancy scans, although that is only a small part of our workload.

Pros: We have the satisfaction of contributing to good patient outcomes, every day. We meet patients and their families and are very involved with them. We get to be creative in that we hunt for disease and injury. Sonographers are sometimes referred to as ‘detectives’.

Cons: It is extremely busy, every day. We often have to rush people through when we would rather take time to make them feel at ease. It is always difficult to find diseases that we know are going to change someone’s life. Giving bad news.