Heartbeat: Carrie on learning

December 7, 2020

Carrie Goodship is a Band 7 Superintendent Radiographer and Reporting Radiographer within the imaging department. She qualified as a radiographer in 1996 and in 2001 she moved to Sandwell Hospital as a senior radiographer. Since then she has become a superintendent radiographer. Carrie also works within CT and interventional radiology and has experience in cardiac imaging and mammography.

Recently she completed a PG Cert in Image Reporting (Axial) at Derby University. We caught up with her to find out more about how the course will benefit her and the department overall.

Speaking to Heartbeat, she said: “The course took a year to complete, and it was a brand new course at the university, so I was in the very first cohort excitingly. I had already previously completed the PG Cert in Image Reporting (Appendicular) several years ago and, had already extended my role, so this was the next natural step in my career.

“I took a lot away from the course, and I’m looking forward to sharing these learnings within my area. Being able to support the internal radiographer and radiologist reporting team will facilitate a faster reporting turnaround time ultimately leading to faster diagnosis and treatment for our patients. In addition, my ability to report plain film studies will enable the radiologists to concentrate on other reporting within imaging such as CT and MRI and performing specialist examinations with interventional radiology and ultrasound.”

Carrie undertook the course alongside her day to day role, and that kept her extremely busy over the past 12 months. Looking back she recalls: “At times it was hard, managing my time between working shifts, writing essays and reflections required by the course as well as revision. It was all worth it in the end though and, I’m pleased I’ve invested my time in this additional learning. In the future, there is another module I would like to complete that focuses on the chest and abdomen. It would mean I could then report on all areas of the body which I’d like to be able to do.”

Carrie isn’t the only radiographer within her area to have completed extra learning. She explained: “The department hopes to maintain a rolling training system in reporting so that a radiographer is qualified each year. There are two radiographers currently studying reporting courses. This will ensure a multi-skilled workforce and an efficient service.