People often ask me if working  as a X-ray tech is fun.   Well actually people seldom ask me that, but maybe they should.  The field of medical imaging really has it’s share of fun times.  Sure  it may never be regarded as much fun as hosting a all night movie marathon or working in a deep shaft coal mine, but it does have it’s benefits.   I want to try to highlight some of those great things about working in radiology.  To be balanced I will also list a few of the less fun aspects of the job.

1. The first benefit that comes to mind is that all day every day you get to make women take their bras off.  I know this is more fun for the guys than the gals in radiology, but the girls do get the fun of making men drop their pants.  Zippers and bra hooks are a no-no for x-rays.  You got to get them out of the way.  In a purely professional way of course.  There is a bad part of this surprisingly.  The bad part is you don’t get to choose who you will be making undress.  It might be Jessica Alba one moment and Rosanne Barr the next.  Orlando Bloom can walk out and Gilbert Godfried can walk in the room.
2. You get to find out secrets.  Do you have any piercings that you don’t brag about?  We can see them.  Do you have breast implants (or other implants?)  They show up on the x-ray.  Are you pregnant and don’t want mom and dad to know yet?  You have to tell us. We even know what medications you are taking.  The bad part?  We can’t tell anyone.  What good is knowing someones secret if you can’t tell everyone? Your secret is safe with us unfortunately.  After all, hospital employees never talk among our self.  Those plastic panties with the metal studs that you wore for your check up will never get any further than the fourth floor.
3. One of the really great parts of the job is the freedom you get.  What other job allows you to go into women’s rooms in the middle of the night and take their picture without getting into trouble?  What’s the bad part you ask?  Well, there really is no bad part to this as far as I know.
4. Hospital parties are always fun. parties are super mega fun when you work in x-ray and have access to enema bags!  They make the perfect drink dispenser.  just grab a new enema bag, fill it with lemonade, and hang it from an IV bag.  The party just starts itself after that.  As for the bad part?  Well quite often we do have to stick things up people’s butts. Most people don’t seem to like this.  It’s hard to understand why they don’t like it, since so many of them come into the ER with something they stuck  up their butt themselves. Anyway,giving an enema is never fun.  It’s much less fun for us than them.  they just lay there we do all the work.  Why make this part of the job any worse by grabbing a used enema bag while setting up for the Christmas party.
5. Wheelchair races!  This has got to be one of the all time best things to do in a hospital.  It’s even more fun when you lube up the wheels with KY Jelly.  Hospitals are blessed with long straight hallways and treacherous 45 degree turns.  The super part about doing it in radiology is that it’s a restricted area.  close off the doors and start the engines.  if you flip your chair and get hurt it’s no big deal.  you are already in a hospital after all.  What is the bad part of this you ask?  You have to remember that people with backless gowns and stomach problems have sat in those chairs.  Make sure you wipe the seat before the starting light turns green.  The only thing worse than having skid marks in your pants is having someone else’s skid marks in your pants.
6.  The number one thing about working in x-ray and any health care job?  OK actually I guess it’s number six but that’s just because of the way I numbered it.  Anyway the greatest thing about the job is that you get to help people on a daily basis.  the absolutely worse part of the job, is that sometimes there are people you can’t help.