A new study by Dr. Shepherd and colleagues has recently shown that deep learning, a type of artificial intelligence, has a higher precision rate of detecting cancer risks in mammograms compared to conventional methods. Screening mammograms can detect early signs of breast cancer, which improves the chances of surviving for the patient, but screening mammograms usually miss about 20% of breast cancers. On the flip side, a false-negative result means a delay in crucial treatment, … Continue reading The Impact of Deep Learning AI on Mammography

I can still hear them clapping and ringing the bells. It was just one year ago. Some of the most enduring images from last Spring were people standing on their balconies clapping as healthcare workers came to the hospitals.  Now, a recent study found nearly 20 percent of medical workers have resigned since the start of the pandemic. Another 30 percent have considered leaving. Many … Continue reading How to Transform from Healthcare Hero to Archenemy in Less Than One Year!

Dinosaurs, one of Earth’s greatest creatures, has intrigued people for generations. Unfortunately, the only public places left to see remnants of those extinct creatures are museums. Most people have probably seen the skeleton of a brontosaurus or compared themselves to the T-rex’s footprint before, but have you ever wondered what goes into taking a fossil and displaying it for the public to see? Radiology plays … Continue reading The Role of Radiology in Paleontology

Hearing about healthcare workers who are tired and stressed isn’t surprising these days. Staffing shortages are being reported in many different ways on the internet and social media. The community boards are advertising, as well as specialty websites and Facebook and LinkedIn.  Many rad techs are posting they are considering traveling and the burnout remarks are everyday fodder. In exploring the myths and certainties of … Continue reading Radiology Staffing Shortages Nation Wide?

In 2017, I wrote a blog about Burnout Syndrome. Wow! What we didn’t know back then seems to be eons ago.  Now, we are in another pandemic surge, this one worse than the first. And, there is no end in sight with Winter just around the corner.   Healthcare workers are angry, disappointed, and leaving in big numbers. Who will be here to turn off the lights?  Staffing … Continue reading The Mass Migration – Out of Healthcare!

The time is Sunday night, August 1, 2021. The place is Lyndon B Johnson Hospital, Houston, TX. The nursing shortage has come to a peak. There are 130 patients in the emergency room waiting to see the doctor.  The hospital was forced to declare an “internal disaster” and put the emergency room on “drive-by” status, halting ambulance traffic to the emergency room as the wait … Continue reading Hospitals Are Amazing Places…if you have enough staff and caregivers

There is much confusion about the prescribed continuing education credits and correct categories to satisfy the CQR requirements for each individual’s prescription RX. And the algorithms from ARRT changed again in June, 2021.  How is someone supposed to figure it out? And how hard is it to find the correct activities? I recently read about the petition that is circulating to stop or remove the … Continue reading You’ve Received Your ARRT CQR RX, Now What?

Depression/Anxiety Among R.T.’s Study Planned Three prominent researchers got together to ask the hard questions about the workplace and its effects on radiologic technologists. After several months of planning, the survey will be ready to go soon. Please understand that the results of this survey can be especially important to you and others staffing imaging departments. Be sure you look for the links to the … Continue reading Depression/Anxiety Among Rad Techs

Last night I was at dinner with a friend and as we were chatting, we were acutely aware of two females at the table next to us. At some point it was noticeable to everyone in our vicinity the ladies were not happy. Both were signaling the waitstaff, complaining about things, and just being difficult. I honestly expected them to start snapping their fingers at … Continue reading Customer Service with a Smile…Patients Complaints Getting You Down?

A superstition is a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation. Superstitions are persistent, even when confronted with evidence they are not true. In medical settings, superstitions can be inherited from those that are more experienced or acquired from experience. People who work in healthcare are humans of science. We believe … Continue reading “Lunar Lunatics” and Other Superstitions in Healthcare