I’ve had a very busy day today full of an eclectic mix of tasks so I thought it might be a good day to do a bit of “day in the life of”/ reflecting. It’s also Healthcare Science week so the perfect opportunity to share!
07:20 Arrive at work. I’m “on the early” which means I get to run up our STx Linac and act as the first port of call for troubleshooting at the beginning of the day.
07:30 Head to the Linac, log on and start doing morning run-up tasks e.g. checking laser alignment, checking radiation warning lights and running our daily beam checks.
07:50 Try to access our surface guided RT system to do the daily QA but it can’t connect to the main database. A problem hopefully I can solve! Head to the server and channel my inner Moss.
Solves the issue and I’m happy I’ve solved a problem all by myself and also before it has affected anyone else’s morning run-up!
08:00 Today’s onsite MPE rings and checks in with me, tell him I’ve solved something already. He pretends to be proud because after a year here he is now used to my need for a bit of positive affirmation!
08:30 Complete run-up and start on a bit of patient specific QA. We had an interesting planning conundrum yesterday where the doctor wasn’t happy with a VMAT plan because of the low dose, didn’t like the conformal plan because of the dose given to a lens and so wanted just a single applied field. But a single applied field smaller than we’d usually permit. This discussion was had with members of the VSIM team, the dosimetrist who had made all the complex plans, this lil physics trainee (who kept having to step out and ask the head of dosimetry questions!) and the doctor, very multidisciplinary! It was decided that we could deliver the field if we did some patient specific QA to check the delivery vs modelling in the planning system. (A planning system which we were actually very confident in down to this field size but also a measurement never hurts if there’s machine time available!). The doctor really didn’t want the patient delayed because their sight is degrading on a daily basis so we’d stayed until half 6 last night designing the QC plan to deliver this morning.
09:10 QC plan delivered, results assessed, all looks good! Will tidy up the results and document for upload upstairs later. Pack up and get caught by a physicist heading to another Linac to troubleshoot issues with diodes. Tag along to expand my learning.
09:30 20 minutes of work on the diodes later we are no closer to having assessed whether the beam is suitable for today’s total skin electron patients. Another physicist tags in who has more experience with diodes and takes control of the situation. It was an interesting dynamic in the control room. Radiographers who want to get the patient treated, engineers who want to get the machine fixed and physicists in the middle trying to ensure everything is safe for the patient treatment but also ensuring it swiftly so as to not keep the patient waiting longer than necessary!
09:45 Cleared the machine for clinical use, write our findings in the logbook and head out so the patient can be set-up and treated without further delay.
09:55 Back upstairs, tidy away some QC bits and bobs and make a well deserved cup of tea!
10:15 Tune into the daily planning catch-up meeting. Need to ensure our single applied field patient is on checking’s radar for today. They are and I don’t have anything else to contribute so I drink my tea and have a fancy biscuit someone has contributed to the office.
10:30 Set to work on completing the associated documentation for the patient specific QA. This particular patient is so novel I alter our standard spreadsheet and add some new measurement points in the planning system. I like this sort of work as it feels like real science/investigative work and it has such a clear benefit for the patient. An experienced band 7 checks over my work and points out a small oversight which I amend accordingly. Our team is so friendly and helpful and open, I love working here.
11:30 I also love the office’s coffee addiction- someone makes a large cafetière and we have a discussion about how CT doses are defined. I message a friend who is a clinical scientist in radiation safety to get some answers to our questions because we are only confusing each other! It’s great being on the training scheme and having a network of people in other areas of medical physics for these exact situations!
11:40 Finish up and upload the patient specific QA and ask the B7 to sign it off. The checker is also satisfied so our patient will be treated this evening after all. Message the doctor to give her the good news.
12:00 Start writing up a competency about a patient case I was involved in last week. I manage 10 words and 2 screenshots in an hour between some admin tasks and a catch-up with my MSc supervisor about final project deadlines.
13:00 Lunchtime! Break area has all the socially distanced seats full so take my cup of tea back to my desk and have a quick scroll through the news whilst eating before heading out for a walk to a new local outdoor art installation.
13:30 TLDs delivered from a patient treatment earlier, settle down to read them out alone in the dosimetry lab with a heavy rock playlist on (much to the surprise of someone who popped in to find a webcam!). Check the results are sensible and tidy up, head back to my desk to analyse them fully during a Teams meeting.
14:30 Monthly dosimetry meeting time. I’ve been onsite a lot in the last few weeks so I’m up to speed on the minutes and so I prioritise finishing up the TLD results so that any adjustments to the patient treatment tomorrow can be made.
15:30 Dosimetry meeting finishes and I’m very proud of myself for NOT volunteering for any of the cool new projects coming up. A year ago I wanted to be involved in everything but now I have learnt to be a little more pragmatic in agreeing to tasks and balancing my workload, especially with my MSc deadline coming up next month! Most of the opportunities will also be really useful for the new long term trainee so I can’t begrudge her being given the tasks!
15:40 Start to pack up to head home but get distracted by one of the dosimetrists planning a large lymphoma case. We have a chat about it then call over the resident expert lymphoma planner for advice. We spend an hour discussing it and trying different methods of trying to get the dose in whilst sparing the lungs to save the patient from pneumonitis. Near the end the doctor happened to walk by to ask about a different patient and then explains the patient background and what we’re trying to achieve with this plan. It was not only great to see an expert planner at work and teaching but also really interesting to see how personalised the radiotherapy requirements can be on an individual patient basis. #Multidisciplinary!
17:00 Settle on the train and reflect on my day. Realise I’ve done so many different and interesting things today it would be a great day for a reflections blog post…..
"You're obviously not a scientist" 