A day in the life of…Kurian Thampi, MRI Radiographer
Kurian Thampi is one of the 17 Radiographers who work in our MRI team. He has been working at NNUH since 2017 and, as part of our focus on MRI Safety Week, he spoke about his duties at the hospital.
“The day begins at 7am with a ‘team huddle’. To ensure the day runs smoothly I will look at staffing levels to see if, for example, there are any colleagues on sick leave and how this will affect the allocation of roles.
“We’re always aiming to ensure we have a single point of contact and communication with our colleagues on the ward.
“Some colleagues will check the status of all of the inpatients who have requests pending for an MRI scan. They will also check that those who have a scan booked have not moved wards overnight.
“I look after the quality of our scanners and every day, with my colleagues, I test the MRS (magnetic resonance spectroscopies) and ancillary equipment to ensure they are optimally tuned for the day’s activities.
“We also make sure we have enough oxygen, suction and emergency equipment for the day ahead.
“We scan a mixture of inpatients and outpatients. The inpatient lists run normally from 7.30am until 5pm, when the outpatient list commences.
“Alongside with my colleagues we make sure that, before patients enter the MRI environment, a verbal safety check is carried on with them.
“If this is not possible, I will review prior imaging to establish safety and to make sure that we will cause the patient no harm due to any implanted devices or any foreign bodies.
“Safety is a very important aspect of MRI and if we are unable to establish if a patient is safe to enter the MRI environment we may have to delay or cancel their visit. If this was to occur, I would contact the ward to advise of the need for either further information of imaging to be able to establish patient safety.
“Each day I do many examinations (neurology, musculoskeletal, body and cardiology), on different age groups, each with their own unique challenges. Cardiac imaging, for example, is one of the most complex examinations.
“A lot of these examinations happen beyond 5pm. It is at this time of the day when I also teach my peers and new colleagues techniques such as 3D imaging and 4D flow of heart.
“By 8pm the out-patient list is normally completed, the room’s cleaned and the list ready for the next day.
“However, often for me the day is still not over as I am on call for Magnetic Resonance imaging, ready to scan emergency cases up until 7am on the next day”.