Sonographers
Examine patients and operate ultrasound equipment to acquire, interpret and selectively record anatomical images, physical data and real-time physiological information.
A full list in the ultrasound room
You are a sonographer in a medical imaging practice, with a full day of scans for many different patients and a radiologist who reviews your images. It is 8:30am. Your first patient is already in the waiting room, the list goes until late afternoon, and the first request of the day is about to change the plan.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
Can you just tell me what you see? The doctor won't see me for a week, and I'm so worried I haven't slept. You can see it right there on the screen. Please, one word.
Explain what you can't say, when he'll hear the results and offer a quiet place to wait
He is disappointed but understands. Knowing the timeline and having a plan for the wait makes it easier. He thanks you for being kind about it.
Give him a small hint about what you can see on the screen, just to ease some of the worry for him
Your hint turns out not to match the doctor's later report. He has spent a week believing something that was not accurate, and trust is damaged.
Say you are not allowed to talk about any results and call in the next patient from the waiting room
You are right about the rule, but he leaves more anxious than he arrived. A little kindness would have fitted inside the rule.
I've got a patient in pain and I need a scan as soon as possible. I know your list is full, but can you fit them in right now? I'm happy to wait for the paperwork.
Say yes and scan the emergency patient right away, then explain the delay to the waiting patient
The emergency patient is cared for, but the waiting patient has been in the room with no warning. A short explanation first would have helped.
Tell the doctor your list is full and the patient will have to wait their turn
A patient in pain waits longer than they should, and the doctor goes elsewhere. Urgent cases need a way through a full list.
Check how urgent it is, tell the waiting patient and fit the emergency scan in between
You find the case is urgent, and explain the short delay to your waiting patient. Both patients get their scans, and the waiting patient is understanding.
We've all come to see the scan today. There are six of us. We want everyone in the room, and we want to film it on our phones. It's such a big day for the family. Is that all right?
Let everyone into the room, since it's a special day for them and they all came such a long way to be here
The room is too crowded to scan well and there's no space for the patient. The scan takes longer, and the next patient waits a long time.
Allow two people in the room, say no to filming, and leave it there so that you can get on with the scan
You protect the scan, but the family feels shut out. A short explanation and an alternative would have helped the day feel better.
Explain how many can come in and why, offer to show the images after, and suggest a way to keep a memory
The family agrees to two in the room and a quiet moment afterwards with the rest. They leave happy, and the scan is done well.
How it went
The last scan is done and the room is quiet. Sonography needs a steady hand, a sharp eye and a way of staying kind when you cannot say everything you see. Would you be comfortable being the calm person in a dark room?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The question you cannot answer
A fictional case set in a darkened ultrasound room in a medical imaging practice and hospital.
The situation
Yasmin was a sonographer scanning a woman named Elena, who was in the middle of her pregnancy. It was a routine scan, and her husband sat in the corner, smiling. Partway through, Yasmin noticed something she wanted the doctor to look at more closely. She kept her face calm and kept scanning. Elena looked at her and said, is everything okay? You've gone quiet. Yasmin knew that she could not diagnose, and that a wrong word now, in either direction, would cause real harm.
What they did
Yasmin took a breath and was honest in the way she was allowed to be. She said she'd completed all the pictures she needed and that the doctor would look at them and talk through the full results. She did not say it was fine and she did not say it was not. She said that the doctor would speak to her that day, and she asked a colleague to make sure the report went to the doctor straight away. She stayed with Elena for a few extra minutes until she looked a little calmer.
How it turned out
The doctor called Elena that afternoon and arranged a follow-up scan. It ended up being a minor finding that needed watching but not worrying. Elena later said she'd been scared, but that she was glad no one had said something wrong.
What would you do?
- Why couldn't Yasmin simply say everything looked fine?
- What can you say to a frightened person when you cannot give an answer?
- How would you stay calm if you noticed something unexpected?