Welcome back to A Couple of Rad Techs Podcast! Zulema Solis RT (R)(M) is a Mammography Technologist for 9 years and is about to start my 10th year. I knew I wanted to be an X-ray tech since the 10th grade and actively pursued this career since then. About a year ago I started my Etsy store to help other mammogram techs with badge buddy cards and also started a TikTok page to create more interest in mammography. Zulema's high school placed a significant emphasis on students taking community college classes, which were almost mandatory throughout their education. Although Zulema had a strong interest in pursuing a career in X-ray technology, her counselors lacked knowledge about the field. Despite this, she strategically focused on completing transferable community college courses, particularly in general education and science. This foresight ensured that her credits would be recognized by any future college or university she attended. Understanding that most X-ray programs require applicants to be at least 18 years old, Zulema concentrated on gathering the necessary prerequisites during high school. By the time she graduated, she was well-prepared to focus exclusively on her X-ray studies, poised to achieve her career aspirations.

Mammography is a vital yet often overlooked specialty in the field of radiology, and in this lively discussion, host Chaundria and guest Zulema dive deep into the ins and outs of pursuing a career in this area. With Zulema's ten years of experience, they explore the numerous opportunities available for radiologic technologists looking to transition into mammography, emphasizing the importance of gaining additional certifications right after X-ray school. They share personal stories and practical tips on navigating the challenges of the profession, from patient interactions to the unique skills required for mammography. Zulema highlights the significance of fostering a supportive environment within the workplace and the benefits of sharing knowledge among colleagues. This episode is packed with valuable insights, humor, and encouragement for anyone considering a career in mammography or looking to enrich their current practice.

Wrapping up their enlightening conversation, Chaundria and Zulema tackle the logistical aspects of working as a mammography technologist, such as scheduling, work-life balance, and the potential for travel opportunities. They highlight the flexibility that can come with mammography roles, contrasting them with other imaging specialties that may require more demanding hours or on-call duties. Zulema discusses her own work arrangements, illustrating how she has managed to carve out a fulfilling career while balancing personal commitments, including motherhood. This episode serves as a practical guide for aspiring mammographers, addressing how to approach job searches, negotiate work conditions, and seek out professional development opportunities. With a blend of humor and candidness, Shandria and Zulema empower listeners to pursue their passions in radiology, reinforcing the idea that a career in mammography can be both rewarding and sustainable. Their shared experiences and insights create a rich tapestry of advice and encouragement that will resonate with both seasoned professionals and newcomers alike.

Takeaways:

• Mammography is an essential yet underappreciated field in radiology, offering many career opportunities.
• Starting a mammography career immediately after X-ray school provides a smoother transition and less stress.
• Mammography technologists can enjoy flexible schedules, often avoiding weekend and holiday shifts.
• Building relationships and sharing knowledge among mammography techs creates a supportive work environment.
• Engaging with patients compassionately is key to successful mammography practices and personal job satisfaction.
• Social media is a powerful tool for aspiring radiology professionals to explore and network.

Links referenced in this episode:

• bestfriendboutique.etsy.com

mammography career tips, radiologic technologist, radiology podcast, medical imaging, mammography technologist, mammography certification, healthcare careers, mammography techniques, patient care in mammography, radiology specialties, radiology education, mammography training, X-ray to mammography, mammography job opportunities, mammography workflow, women in radiology, mammogram procedures, radiology professional development, career advancement in radiology, mammography technology

Mentioned in this episode:

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Welcome to A Couple of Rad Tech's podcast where we bring you an inside look at the world of radiology from the unique perspective of a married couple of radiologic technologists.

Together, we have over 30 years of experience in the field and are here to demystify the science of medical imaging.

Radiology is the unsung hero of the medical field, providing doctors with crucial images and information that help diagnose and treat illnesses.

Join us as we explore the latest techniques, technologies and innovations in radiology and discovery the vital role we play in the healthcare industry.

So come along for the ride as we share our passion for radiology as a married couple.

Hello, welcome to another episode of A Couple of Rad Techs.

I am Shandria, your host for today's episode and we are talking again all things mammography.

You guys love to hear about mammography and I love to talk about it.

You know that it is a passion of mine to talk about radiologic technology and all the specialties that we have in our field.

And again, I've brought you another amazing guest.

We have Zelema.

She is a mammography technologist for the last 10 years.

And get this, you guys, she's better than a lot of us.

She knew she wanted to be in the radiology field since the 10th grade.

I knew nothing about it in high school.

So I am just so excited to meet someone who knew early on about this amazing field.

And she is doing so much to advocate and to help everyone learn about mammography and the medical imaging profession.

So check out our TikTok.

You can find that in the description.

Description and also her Etsy shop.

She has an Etsy shop that has badge buddy cards and her tick tock page.

Everything's going to be in there.

So let's get into the conversation today.

Welcome.

Hello.

Thank you for having me.

You are welcome.

So glad to be here.

So we're going to get right into the conversation because mammography is a really hot topic and you talk a lot about it on.

I mean, you go in depth, you talk about all kind of things like the positioning, why you want to be a technologist, why you want to transfer over into mammography.

Because I think it's really important because when I search mammography technologists, I don't find a lot on social media.

So to see you and see you so articulate about so many variety of pathways in the field, I think sometimes we as technologists, even us in the field, I'm not just talking about people coming through school.

But those of us that are in the field, we say, I'm burnt out, I'm only doing X ray.

I don't want to do CT is too high paced.

I don't want to go into education, but I want something a little calmer.

I want something that's not so physical.

And I think memo just goes right over people's heads.

So let's even talk about those of us in the profession who maybe can have a fresh look at mammography.

So that, that, that's what I want to touch on today.

So welcome.

Thank you.

And I agree with that.

How did you know you wanted to do radiology since the 10th grade.

I need to know.

So my parents always push the medical field onto me.

They didn't.

They're not from the medical field whatsoever.

They came from Mexico, so first generation kind of a thing.

They said, stick to something in the medical field.

So doctor was out of the question because my family has no money.

Nursing was an option, but I don't know, there was just something about nursing, how you really have to take care of your patient, like their entire life is in your hands kind of a thing that really scared me.

And then we had some very far relative that was doing the X ray.

I spoke briefly to her, she didn't really provide me with too much details.

But then in high school, in the 10th grade, my school was providing a internship at a hospital.

So very, very small, super small hospital.

And when I went in, everyone was assigned to different departments and I specifically asked if be placed an X ray.

So they gave me permission.

And the very first day that I went in, they rolled me into the or.

They had me strapped on, lead shield, everything.

I saw them open up the spine, I saw them use a C arm.

And I was like, yep, this, this is what I'm gonna do.

This is exactly what I'm gonna do.

I still remember the smell of like the skin being burned.

And I remember being fascinated by it.

And the tech was just like, don't vape.

Whatever you do, don't vape.

And I was like, no, no, no, I'm not gonna think so.

That was really cool.

So from there on core, if that didn't scare you, they took you straight to the or.

Oh my goodness.

Yeah, that was a lot of fun.

That's a really nice memory that I have.

And then from there, like I would go into OR cases and just help them.

And by help I mean, like, I would just stand to the side next to the C arm.

I had no idea what Anything was going on.

The only other thing that they did let me do was clean the machines, stock the supplies in the X ray rooms.

I did get to see mammography once when I was there, and it was through film.

Mammography did not catch my attention.

No, none whatsoever.

I was like, nope, I want to be in the.

Or I want to be in the.

Me too.

I'm not gonna.

I'm not gonna tell a fib here.

I'm the same way.

Mammography just.

I was like, nope, nope, nope, nope.

Didn't really have a basis for that.

No.

But I just was like, no, no, no.

So you're not alone on that.

But we've all.

We've all kind of.

You never say never.

What we've learned, right?

Yeah.

No, I specifically said, I'm never doing mammography like that.

But to be fair, the chick that I was with, she had never had a student with her or, like, anyone there, so she was super quiet.

Nothing was explained to me, so I had no idea what was going on.

Versus an X ray.

They were like, okay, we're gonna do an X ray of this elbow.

We're gonna do an X ray of this.

This is how you position and everything.

So that definitely plays a factor into it.

It's a huge factor.

I'm glad you mentioned that because.

So we're gonna remember that because we're gonna get into.

To talk about that.

When you're talking about going over into mammography as a technologist, someone new, we know how it is to go into new modalities.

It.

It.

It's scary.

Even if you're not a student, you're.

You're a technologist for years.

It's a little.

Because you know how people are when you're trying to transition over to their job.

Some people are, like, not welcome.

And some people are like, come on over.

We love to have you.

I'm going to show you everything.

And then you got some people that's just like, I'm in the middle.

I'm neutral.

I don't care.

Yes.

Essentially, I want to be helpful to the students in high school, because I think that is a wonderful thing that you knew in high school that you wanted to do radiology.

So if someone is looking into the medical field or into radiology, particularly a parent, a child, what can they do?

What steps can they do?

And I know each state is going to be different, you guys, but just kind of listen to what Zulima is saying about how she navigated high school, and it led her to the radiology profession.

Maybe you could take some things and then reach out in your state and see what is comparable.

So my high school was very big on having all their students take community college classes while we were in high school.

It was kind of mandatory through our schooling.

But that played a big factor because even though I really wanted to do X ray and none of my counselors knew anything about X ray or even anything remotely, I simply focus on being able to take community college classes.

I could transfer to another community college once I graduated and or university and I focus on science classes and then gesture general ed.

So by doing that, I knew that by the time that I graduated, no matter where I went to school, it would completely transfer over and then I could just focus on the X ray only portion of classes.

Because most programs, again, every state is different.

But most programs at least near me, you have to be at least 18 years or older to be able to even apply to the program.

And I was nowhere near that.

So I just focused on what I could do, which was general ed and then your science classes.

So that's what I did.

Beginning 10th grade, every single semester, I would take at least one college class during the summer, two during the winter, two classes until I graduated soon.

Did you start preparing for the 10th grade to do that?

Was that something you did in the 8th and 9th grade or.

No.

Beginning of 10th grade.

Beginning of 10th grade.

So 10th grade.

I started taking college classes in the spring, so I learned about it in the fall.

And then fall and winter semester.

I was trying to figure things out.

My counselor helped me.

And then by the spring I started to be enrolled in these classes and it was just one class at a time.

I didn't do more than that.

Only during the summer and the winter I would take on two college classes.

That's it.

Did you go to a special high school or was this just a normal high school?

Normal high school, Normal high school.

But they were very big on education and university, so they really pushed that onto us.

But I knew what I wanted to do, so I knew that didn't matter how much university they pushed on me.

None of the universities around me have X rays, so it was not going to work out for me.

So I simply focus on what I could do.

Well, that's very good that your counselors.

And I thought that was interesting that you said the counselors, when you told them about radiology, they were like, what?

What, what is that?

So obviously there's work we need to do in the school system because it's still the same.

When I was growing up, most counselors, you, oh, you want to work in medical, be a nurse, be a doctor.

And there are so many professions.

My mom's best friend, her and her husband were both respiratory therapists growing up, I assumed they were nurses.

My cousin, he's.

He was a director in radiology when I was going to school for radiology, I'm like, you are what.

I just.

Knew you had on scrubs.

Whenever I see someone that scrubs, either doctor or nurse, that's, that's no idea of anything, anything else related to medical.

So how are young people in high school supposed to have all the options available to, to them if even in high school the counselors don't know what's out there?

So I love that you talked about this.

So let me ask you this question.

Because high school, when I was in high school, which is a while ago, they had different pathways you could go.

So if your mind was more of an engineer pathway, that's the type of direction.

From the seventh or eighth grade, I was directed.

I had more of a science, math.

So all of my courses were more science directed because I tested and it showed that I was a more science directed person.

That's the kind of direction all of my courses went towards those.

So when I did go to college, I would have enough for that particular direction that I was going.

So by the seventh grade, my counselors kind of helped me to decide, you want to go in more of a health science direction.

Because that's what I like.

That's what I tested well on.

That's what led me.

We didn't have a program like that until after I graduated.

In the state of Georgia, where you can get, at one time it was unlimited college credits for free while you were still in high school.

You didn't even have to wait till the summer.

So we have that now, but now they've cut it to, I think, 32.

Only you can get in your last two years of high school, which is still great.

That's still great.

But it was no cap before.

So if you were really smart and focused like you were, I mean, you can knock out a lot of stuff, you know, especially if you got a lot of your high school things.

So what it takes is parents and children communicating and being able to shadow and learn about these different professions like radiology and then working towards it in high school and finding out what programs your school system and your high school have available to you.

Right?

Absolutely.

And so after you.

Oh, go ahead.

And in my high School.

It was a brand new high school that I went to.

So like I was the third graduating class from that high school.

So it was brand new.

So everything was barely being figured out.

We didn't have any type of pathways like how you mentioned that you had health science, engineering.

We had none of that.

We were all kind of just, just trying to figure things out.

So even the hospital program was brand spanking you.

They were still trying to figure things out.

There was nothing really to guide us again.

It was kind of just figure it out as you go along the way type of thing.

But it was nice.

And if parents are involved, I think that's great.

But the wonderful thing is that we have social media now and everyone's on social media.

So at least I feel like a lot more high school students can an effort into not just scrolling, but maybe finding different careers and at least getting a little bit of insight of what X ray is and how I can help them and everything.

And how to start early.

Start early.

Don't wait till your senior year if these things are available.

And then also they can have tools to go to their college counsel.

High school counselors go to their teachers with and say, hey, I heard about this radiology program.

And it's at universities, it's at colleges because some parents want their children to have a university degree.

Some parents are like, whatever, but we know to go to school for what we do in radiology, you must have a two year degree.

You graduate with at least an associate's and there are other pathways to go.

We have 11 specialties and you have mammography.

So how can someone.

You talk a lot about pursuing mammography straight out of X ray school?

I'm a big proponent of making sure you have at least one extra specialty outside of diagnostic radiology.

And the reason I say that is because when I was going to school 22 years ago this month makes my 22nd anniversary.

Wow.

I want to do something.

I guess I need to like get some balloons or something.

Yeah, you're a little 22 in the back with a cake.

Yes, absolutely.

It's been a long 22 years and I still got some years to go.

And you still love it.

And I still love it.

It has been a blessing to my family.

My husband does it as well.

And it.

I was telling my hair stylist this morning how amazing this profession is in my opinion.

But I love how you advocate that going for mammography right after X ray school is important.

While I was in school my first year, I finished everything in the first year, all my clinicals gave us two years to do it.

I did it in the first year because I knew I did not.

And I kept my mouth closed because I didn't.

It wasn't wrong.

But there was nothing in writing.

I said I couldn't do it, but there was nothing in writing said I could, like throw it and just stay focused and do your thing.

I didn't let anybody see.

I just get them to sign off where I need them to sign off and I close my.

I knew once I got into the profession, oh, wait, I can do this, I could do that, I could do that.

That's a lot of stuff I could do.

I had plans to get every specialty because back then you didn't have to take the comps.

You just paid the 150 and passed the test.

Oh, wow.

Yeah, that's how you see some men with mammography registries.

They've never done a mammogram in their life.

When I love it.

And they have the M behind their name.

Like initials.

They like initials.

But now you have to actually do the comps to pay for the exam and take it.

But that was my plan to get every letter behind my name too.

But they changed the rules by the time I graduated.

But I tell people, get at least one.

Whether you do it or not, whether you want to do it or not, give yourself another option while your brain is still in a study mode.

What is your take on that?

Why straight after X ray school?

I agree with that mentality because that's the only reason why I got mammography, because my school offered mammography and they made it clear that if you were a female, you could graduate with your X ray and mammo at the same time.

Even though I did not like mammography, I was like, just, just get it.

Just have it just in case.

And again, in my head, I just saw it as like an older generation type of thing.

Like, this is not a field that I'm going to be touching anytime soon.

I'm going to be doing this when I'm close to retirement type of thing.

But I was like, let me at least have it.

Let me just have it.

Very glad I did that because I did not expect it to be the way it did.

But.

Yes, but mammography compared to other fields is just a lot easier to get versus ct, mri.

Because I believe even the programs around me, they take about a year.

Because to get all the studies and everything, it takes time, right?

It's not.

It's not easy.

But mammography, it's just boobs.

You know, we're pretty straightforward, everyone.

And you know that with mammography you can, you know, you can get your exams at least the amount of exams needed to get your license a lot quicker versus other fields.

So that's the only reason why.

And I'll say this too, I feel like CT and mammography are easier to get because you're already coming from a radiologic technology, ionizing radiation, mind frame and study.

So while your brain is on that pathway and all that stuff is fresh in your mind, it's the same principles that you're learning from X ray school, radiology school, over to mammography school, same principles.

It's just you did.

You're just focusing on one body part and a lot of qa.

That's the only difference to me.

So your brain has already learned a lot of that stuff.

That's why it's easier for me.

When I went from X ray to ct, it was not my plan, but I'm so glad I did X ray to ct, because my brain already knew about all of that radiation biology and how radiation worked.

That stuff was still fresh in my head.

I just went over to ct.

Boom.

Oh, this is good.

It was just cross sectional.

What's the difference?

We don't learn cross sectional X ray.

So that was different.

And the machine process and the protocols was different in the calcium score and that kind of stuff.

Mri, when I went to school for mri, that's, that's nothing to do with what we learned.

No, that's completely physics.

Completely different from that.

Yeah, it's like really like I'm, I don't, I, I try to, and I try to tell people, if you go from X ray to MRI and go back to ct, you going back to school again.

Just go X ray, Connecticut, do all the radiation stuff first and then jump over to nuclear medicine or radiation therapy or mri.

Because those are just different principles.

They're not the same science principles.

So with mammography, I think that's why it makes sense to go right after X ray school from, to memo ct, X ray.

Those three are like little close family members.

They're first cousins, I call them.

Mammography is great.

And I really do think it's just depending on where you live and how easily you can get into a clinic that you can get your exam.

It's just a lot easier.

In my brain also, it just understood it a lot better.

I just understood it.

There's only so much as Far as breast is concerned, that you can learn.

So it was a lot easier to grasp.

But again, it was not in my plan.

My plan was to graduate X ray, have the memo license, and then go back to school for ct.

But I wanted to give myself at least a year of being in the field practicing before I did that, never did that, went straight for mammography, and I ended up just sticking there.

What do you think it was that made you stick with mammography?

I realized that it was something that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I enjoyed my interactions with the patients.

I didn't fully understand it when I first started it and everything that goes into it, but I was still very, very curious about it.

So I figured, well, why not?

Why not pursue this for another year and see how it goes?

So that's what I did.

I told myself, give yourself a year, fully commit to mammography, and if after the year you don't like it, then that's fine.

You know, it's not.

It's not the end of the world.

And here we are ten years later.

So.

And I think that's important because you did not force yourself to feel rushed, but you kept yourself focused that I'm already in the school, get something that's being offered to me.

Why would you not take advantage of something?

It just made total sense, the time period of you being able to get another certifications, because certifications mean more money.

One thing I think people don't know about mammography, because I know a lot of mammography takes longer than me.

And I'm gonna tell you, they make more money than me.

Yes.

I'm like, I was gonna mention that too.

It's a specialty.

So you get paid more.

You get paid more.

And what people don't understand is the specialties that people sleep on are the ones that usually make more money.

Because people.

I think it takes special people.

Not I think I know it takes special people to do mammography.

I'm gonna say that it does take special people.

I do breast MRIs, and I've had my own mammogram since age of 24 because of lumps and issues in my life.

So I know how stressed I am when I go get mine.

And when I've had memo techs who have not been so nice, I'm like, hey, look, I'm a patient first, but I'm also a technologist.

Let's wrap that on up.

Because I'm stressed out.

I know, patience, give me patience.

I'm really stressed because I got a lump sitting in me, and I don't know this time if it's cancerous or not.

Every time I got the gut back, I don't know it's cancerous or not.

Every time I come, they find something.

So I'm already stressed.

I do appreciate the technologists and what they do.

I know what it means to be a technologist.

I know what it means to be a patient as well, and to have technologists like yourself in the memo field who care about the patients.

So you do have to have a level.

Because when my patients come to me for MRI of the breast, it's usually because they do have a really bad tumor.

Yeah.

Sometimes it's just genetic testing that they've had and they want to monitor it.

But majority of the time, whenever I do breast MRIs, it is really bad.

It's like really bad.

When they come for the MRI breast, those are some of the worst.

And I worked in a cancer center in ct my first nine years of my career.

And, yeah, breast MRIs kind of took me back for, you know, to reality of what women go through and what mammography techs have to see.

So I feel, you know, it does take a lot of patience, kindness, empathy for this job, and you guys are compensated.

And it's a lot of work.

Because when I went to get certified in it, that's the other thing I want to talk about.

I don't want to hear anybody say, oh, all they do is grab breast and put no honey with a small breast.

Trying to get them inside there.

I was like, oh, my goodness, can we talk about that?

Because I want to really highlight memo in a positive light.

After doing MRI breast, I chose to go get nationally certified in memo because I felt like I wasn't understanding why I was doing what I was doing.

And I don't like to be the technology that push buttons and the radiologist just says, do X do sagittals and that's it.

I just want two sagittal.

But why?

And I get all this paperwork from memo on this person.

I don't understand why we wait till after this.

Men seize to do this.

Why we.

What is a bracket is and a brca that.

But when I went and got nationally certified and actually was sitting there maneuvering the breast in there and getting all that tissue in there, I started doing my mri.

Breast much better.

I mean, it was clicking.

It was clicking.

I was feeling like a little pro.

I was in there just the patient.

And I made the patients more comfortable for the mri, the breast, everything just Worked much better.

And for me, I felt like every MRI technologist should go get nationally certified in mammography.

It does play a big factor, especially if you are the MRI tech that's for.

That's helping the doctor perform the biopsy.

As far as understanding goes, like, it just.

It helps so much.

The MRI techs that I have worked with that have done mammography or that at least are certified in it, even if they're not actively in it, they perform so much more better versus an MRI tech who has no background in mammography whatsoever.

And it's understandable.

It's understandable.

But if you have it like, it just.

It helps so much to fully understand what's really going on in the breast and why certain things are happening.

So.

So let's.

Let's put this in a positive light, because after I did that, the reason I said that was because when people think I'm burnout, I get this all the time.

I'm burnout in radiology.

And I get it.

You can be as in places that will.

We talked ahead of time before getting on here.

I contract, and I still get tired of some places I go to.

You, it's work.

When I was working, driving trucks at FedEx, you got drama everywhere you go, y'all.

I don't care if you got to work.

Even at home.

I hear housewives complaining and stay at home moms complaining.

It's just called life, y'all.

But we got to figure it out.

But our profession and mammography, I want it to really be highlighted in a positive way, because I feel like it's one of those professions that people are really sleeping on and not realizing, like you said at the beginning, it's an easy way to trans within the medical imaging profession without having to feel like, I gotta go back to school.

Exactly.

Highlight to us what a day in the life of a mammography tech would look like, because all people think about is this.

Oh, papers.

I'm drowning in papers.

Oh, papers.

Qa.

I gotta test this.

Oh, I gotta grab on boobs, and I gotta work inside of a department full of miserable women.

Oh, my goodness.

I'm not saying some of that's not true, but that's just life.

No, I agree.

And that's also the reason why I didn't want to do mammography, because I was in a department that was like that, so.

Especially as a student.

So.

Yes, yes.

However, once you're certified and you're out by yourself and you're going into the field, you really get to experience mammography in a new light.

Because as long as you focus on educating yourself and fully understanding what is going on with your patient, I think that's when it becomes enjoyable.

So not just doing XYZ like you said, because the radiologist is telling this to, but fully understanding.

So your patient comes in, you have to make that connection with that patient the moment they come in into your room because it's a very sensitive exam, right?

So you never want to, you never want to offend them in any way.

But you also need the patient to fully cooperate with you, especially if they're there for a diagnostic finding, especially if it's a Birads 5 that you're already aware of, but the patient has no idea.

So you really need to be on top of your stuff.

But once you have that knowledge, I feel that's when it really starts to become enjoyable because then you really know and you know how to work around patients.

You know how to work with the emotions and everything that comes with it.

And you as a tech, you start to feel good too because you, you understand now you know what the radiologist is talking about.

Now you can read the report and you're like, oh, okay, this is what I have to do.

Like this, this makes 100% sense.

I definitely think that's the best thing about mammography.

That's what I love.

I love that every patient is different, every case is different.

There's not one single patient that comes in with the exact same problem.

It's going to have a very different outcome.

So that's what I like.

That's what I think is nice about mammography.

Every patient is different, every situation is different.

It's never like the exact same steps for everyone.

I do think sometimes people think that, but they do, they do.

It's not.

I did until I went to school for a memo and I was like, wait, I had to take a breather and I was out in Vegas.

So I'm going to tell you, this is, it was a good teaching place that I went to because if you're just thinking breasts, you get implants.

You.

Every implant is different.

Every implant is different.

And then how long have they had their implants for?

Have they gotten them placed?

You know, are they encapsulated?

Do you have silicone in the lymph nodes?

What is going on with the implants?

Like is it a patient that has a full on mastectomy and then has implants and they're trying to like reimage?

Like what?

Yeah, It's a whole thing.

It's a whole.

So when you say not every.

In my mind when I first started.

It'S like, okay, bloop.

Just bloop, bloop, bloop.

Done.

No, that wasn't it.

And once I got it, I got it.

But you.

Every patient was different.

Literally.

Literally.

If you physically were different, emotionally, they're different.

Like, their history is super different.

You can't treat everyone the exact same way.

You have to spend more time with some patients versus others.

There's some patients, you go in, they're ready to go.

Very little communication.

Cool.

We're done.

There's other patients.

You have to really, like, talk them through the entire thing, you know?

So, again, I think it's fine because it's always a challenge.

That's how I always say it.

It's always a challenge.

Any patient that comes in, and it's always a fun challenge.

Like, what am I gonna deal with today and not deal with in a negative way, but, like, how am I gonna, like, overcome this and make sure we can get the best picture possible for this patient?

Yeah.

You know, and then you throw in those patients that are in the wheelchairs or in the canes or a kyphotic or.

And that's.

That scared me in the beginning.

That scared me.

But the facility that I was in, my manager was very, very persistent that I did not receive any help that I had to figure it out.

Did I figure it out?

No, absolutely.

I did not.

In the beginning.

The first five patients that I had that were in wheelchair or kyphotic or they just had some other type of thing going on.

No idea.

So I had to observe.

It was just a lot of observing, watching what everyone else was doing.

And then, okay, next patient.

I'm going to do it completely by myself and give me 20 minutes.

But this patient, figure this out.

But then slowly but surely, your confidence goes up, and then you're like, oh, patients looking this way.

Okay, well, let me just angle the machine a little bit more or let me have them this.

So it's.

It's fun.

I like it.

That's why I like it.

It's.

It's fun.

So do you work?

I.

And this is the other thing people don't know about mammography is I did it.

I did a TikTok, and, you know, I try to be funny but entertaining at the same time.

And I did the TikTok, where I have this little series that I do where people go to school for 10 years and they come out and with a master's degree and they make $30,000 a year.

And then they see their cousin over there is making six figures, doing radiation therapy and they're like, what?

Or radiologic technologists making close to six figures and they got a four year degree and they make $50,000 so.

And full of school debt.

I did one of them at my groupie about how people are sitting there following social media.

And that's the one thing I like to really say.

You know, you can't believe everything on social media and that's just.

Everybody knows that.

But I don't think every people.

Everybody believes that.

And that's why I like your content.

Because it's not for the gimmicks, it's not for the, for the fake.

You give the real of mammography.

This is how you become one.

This, these are some tools and you give a very positive spin on it.

And you've shown, there are places you've worked where it's like, no, I'm getting out of there.

But it didn't change your view of the profession.

And I think that's important because we've all had our own experiences, right?

I mean, good and bad, but it doesn't change our view of what the profession has been able to provide for us in our families.

And we're grateful to be able to take care of ourselves and our bodies are still in shape.

I mean, you're working through your pregnancy like that is.

Girl, I'm doing wheelchair patients through my pregnancy without a problem.

Okay.

That's a big deal.

Okay.

Because for some MAML texts, they're like, you need to have help.

And I'm like, no, I don't.

Once you know how to position like you, you really don't.

Really don't.

Really don't.

But yeah, it's, it, it's been a lot of fun.

I love my profession.

I, I don't see myself leaving anytime soon.

Maybe in the future just to like do something else.

I would.

But right now it's, it's perfect.

So.

And if you start.

So one thing I want to talk about is a schedule for you guys.

What does a normal schedule look like?

Because I did the thing on Monday through you don't have to work call holidays.

And I got some people in the comments saying they work weekends in memo and they take call.

Like I can never get an appointment on a weekend.

I live in a huge metropolitan city.

Okay.

I have yet to meet anyone personally that takes on call for Mamo because even when I was working at My breast center, the only one who was on call was my manager because she had to schedule patients and everything.

But it was still online work.

You never have to go in person.

So I personally have no idea what those people are talking about.

But I've never, I've, I've never done that.

I really, I don't know.

And as far as I'm aware, as far as everything that's been taught to me, there's no such thing as a breast emergency.

It can wait till Monday.

It can wait till Monday.

That is what the radiologists, the breast surgeons.

Because again, I've worked in one of the biggest breast centers here in la and that's has always been the mentality.

So hey, maybe somewhere else.

It's very different for me personally.

I've never had to be on call.

I've never met anyone that's had to be on call for mammography weekends.

Yes, I do know some mhmhs that work weekends, but they tend to be more of outpatient centers, not hospital centers.

Hospital centers, you typically don't.

There's one big hospital in my area that does.

That's why you don't work there you go, don't work there.

That's, that's kind of how I always see it.

Like yes, people do say like, oh, you might have to work weekends, you might have to work holidays.

I'm like, again, don't work there.

Like I've never had to work holidays, I've never had to work weekends.

I live in a huge metropolitan city and it is one of the where I get my breast ultrasounds and memos done.

I'm gonna tell you, I have never ever been offered.

Now they'll work late to 7, but I've never been in since I was 24, offered me a weekend place to get my memo done because it would have helped out working full time.

I had to take off one to get my memos.

I did work at an outpatient center last year and they did have Saturdays open and they were trying to get Sundays open.

And I did work like maybe three weekends the entire year that I was with them.

And by the third one I was like, yeah, it's not going to work for me.

I'm like, yeah, no, no, I'm a mom.

Can't, can't do this.

They were very nice to me, they respected it and they ended up just closing the day because once I said no, all the other mama texted no.

Right, right.

So.

And that's the thing, I think that's a little off topic.

But that's one thing that I appreciate is that when everyone in the department, they're going to try stuff, especially outpatient centers, they're going to try to extend hours.

And I was like, 7:00 was when I got.

I don't care how much money you offer me.

And they were like, well, those are hours.

I said, oh, you must go.

Have somebody else work it.

And they came to me first.

The other two texts, waiting to see what I said.

I was like, I wasn't waiting to see what y'all said because I knew I was not working till 10 or 11 o'clock and 7 o'clock was the latest.

Now they.

So they got some other guys to come in and do it.

It didn't last but a few because nobody was coming out at 10 o'clock at night to get an MRI.

And that's where us as techs, sticking together on the jobs and saying, okay, if you say no now, if you say, yeah, you gonna work it?

Because I'm not.

And being willing to walk away is a big thing as well.

Some people can't.

I know, but if you're gonna be miserable working something, go somewhere else and find another job that fits your time schedule exactly.

And there's that.

One of the bigger hospitals, they have tried to reach out to try and recruit me, but all the new contracts that they are having, because they are a union, because it's a hospital, it unfortunately does revolve around alternating weekends, which maybe in the future I'll be up for it.

But right now, and they really will, they're one of the.

They're one of the hospitals here in LA that pay the most for, like, text, just period.

But yeah, weekends.

No, it's just.

It's not going to happen for me.

I tell people it's not always about the money.

Money is not always your negotiating factor, because just because you make a lot of money does not mean that's the right job.

When you're negotiating, negotiate your call, your time off, whether you work weekends, whether you work, you know, like whether you work at three 12s or four 10s, whether you work five eights, you should be negotiating all of those things.

What, How.

How do y'all work holidays?

Some people have put in their contract, I don't want to work New Year's because that's my anniversary or I Don't want to work Labor Day.

That's my anniversary.

That's my kid's birthday, or whatever it is that's special to you.

You can negotiate those things.

Yeah, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

It's not always about money.

Yeah, you could get money anywhere.

I'm gonna tell you.

Places to pay you, places will pay you.

Registry will pay you.

You can work overtime a hundred hours.

You're gonna get the money regardless.

If you really want that, you're gonna get it.

But not for my mental health.

My mental health in mammography.

Yeah, we're sticking to jobs Monday through Friday, no weekends, no calls, no holidays.

And even then, I still don't work full time for that same reason.

I'm like, no, my mental health is a little bit better than that.

I'm going to spend more time with my family.

Let me ask you about that too, because sometimes people think mammography.

There are no PRN jobs in mammography.

There's no way I could travel as a mammography tech.

Tell us what the opportunities are with that.

You can actually travel with mammography.

There's a lot of jobs that you can find online that will provide you 13 week contracts.

That's one way to go about it.

You can also do local travel, which is what I'm currently doing.

And I simply inform them what days I am available.

I'm very flexible with my schedule, so I'll say Monday through Friday, three days out of those weeks, I'm yours, wherever you need me type of thing.

From there, you do have to have an interview with the manager of the facility that they want to place you at.

And that's when you can really fine tune your schedule and your hours and so forth.

So for one facility, for the outpatient center, I was there only two days a week, but I was doing 10 hour shifts, which I've always wanted to do a 10 hour shift.

So I was all for it.

I was all for it.

Two days a week.

Absolutely.

Yes, I'll be there.

And I don't have to do anything else for the rest of the week.

Absolutely.

Now I'm doing three days a week, eight hour shifts again, works perfectly.

Now for my schedule.

One second, baby comes.

Who knows?

Maybe we'll try and do a 12 hour shift here.

Maybe three 12 hours.

I don't know yet.

Still looking.

But there's so many opportunities in mammography.

You can do full time, you can do overtime, you can do part time.

And mammography right now, just as a whole there's so much need for MAML text.

So whoever you go with, they will work with you on your schedule, period.

Because that's how desperate they are right now.

That's how much we need Mamotex.

Because not a lot of Mamotex out there.

Yeah, a lot of them retired after the pandemic.

Things change.

That's the good thing about technology and the advancement of the profession.

Since I've been in it, PET came about, you know, different modalities are coming up.

And now you have AI, the remote scanning, things like that for mri.

There are a lot of things that's coming in, opportunities for a lot of people.

And you talk about the importance of sharing your memo knowledge with other technologies without competition, and which is important, you know, in every job you have that.

But why do you say it's important to share the knowledge that you have.

As a memography technologist, Again, me personally, I work with a lot of older women who have been in the field for quite a while.

So they're not always super forward with face with sharing the knowledge.

I was very, very lucky that to work in a facility in a breast center where that's not the mentality.

The mentality is everyone needs to know everything, period.

Everyone needs to know how to do mammograms, screening, diagnostics, biopsies, and then you still need to know how to perform breast ultrasounds, biopsies, and it doesn't matter that you're the brand new person, you're going to learn all of this within the next year kind of a thing.

So coming from a facility where they were very much, well, you're new, you're only going to stick to screening.

Maybe every so often I'll let you watch me do a diagnostic to going to a breast center where you learn everything.

You really get to see, like how amazing it is.

And when you get new texts and it was my turn to train them, it was like, let me show you why mammography is amazing because this is everything that you can do.

Um, and these mammoths that I train, again, you can literally see like the little light bulb in their eyes and everything.

And they end up falling in love with mammography because of it.

Because you, you're not stuck just doing screening, diagnostics.

Um, you're, you can learn how to do biopsies, you can learn how to scan, and once you know how to do it, it's again going back to the MRI text.

When you have a background in mammography, everything clicks.

When you're performing breast ultrasounds or breast biopsies.

Again, it clicks.

If you know how to do mammography, if you're the one tech that, like, does everything.

So I think it's beautiful.

I think it's great.

And I think the more knowledge we can spread and help each other, like, it's just going to make mammography as a field a lot nicer and a lot more welcoming environment for everyone.

Because, again, I do feel like sometimes it is painted not in the best way, but if you.

If you're in a facility that it's not like that, then you'll be the first person.

You'd be the first person to do that.

So.

And then wherever you go next, you make sure you continue being that person, because then you're going to help everyone.

And everyone in mammography knows everyone.

So, you know, mammography is a very small field.

So radiology, the whole medical imaging island.

Medical imaging is.

I had someone on my podcast and he was like, we work together.

And I was like, we did, but we worked in the same hospital for years, but he was in nuclear medicine, and I was in Mr.

And I was in CT before that.

So I worked closely with the nuke man test.

And when he started talking, I was like, he kind of looks familiar.

But I never could really remember that we worked there together.

But he was totally.

He remembered everything.

And I was like, obviously we work together, but that is such a small world in the medical imaging.

Even just in the United States.

We all kind of know each other.

You're going to cross paths with everyone.

And I love that you said that even if you find yourself at a facility where sharing the knowledge is not the norm, that I was in that situation when I went over left and went to MAP, I was not welcome.

Literally gave me 30 days to learn a whole different profession.

MRI had never done anything but radiation.

Giving somebody 30 days to learn.

It was obviously for me to fail, but.

And there was nobody for me to help.

For nobody there to help me.

And it took literally every day going in there for 30 days straight and just sitting there standing over people watching because nobody was showing me.

They clicked so fast so I couldn't see stuff.

I mean, and I had.

I didn't know what an MRI machine even looked like.

I didn't know what a five goss line was like.

It was.

I was thrown into the fire to fail.

And I feel like, unfortunately, many of us have had that experience.

But this is why social media is so important.

This is why this podcast is important to us.

Talking about you can rise above all of that.

I mean, you can go into situations like that, but if you keep your focus and you know why you're going into the profession and remembering that memo is a field that is highly paid.

I just want to say that you guys are not like getting paid pennies.

You guys are paid well.

Your job is not sitting down, just doing easy stuff.

And it's not a lot of busy paperwork.

You are highly skilled.

It takes focus, empathy, kindness and professionalism to do what you do.

You see a variety of exams, you can work in different types of mammography lines, you can do leadership, you can do screenings, you can, you have different patients each time.

You can do diagnostics, you could do biopsies.

There is work in a breast center, outpatient center in a hospital.

There are so many teach.

There are so many things you can do with mammography that I think are not really highlighted.

And yes, in every profession, you have people that are miserable and not happy.

I mean, everybody doesn't work wake up on the right side of the bed.

But as you show, you can still excel in the profession and inspire other people who come in not to have the experience you have.

And that's been my goal too.

When people work with me, I want to make sure unless you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed and you just want to be miserable, you work with me, I'm going to try to show you what I know.

If you want to know it, I try to show you, but going to make sure you have a positive experience.

When you look back on mri, if you worked with me, and the same with you for a mammography.

And the reality is with mammography, like, I don't think people really realize how many doors open to you, even as far as like jobs are concerned.

Because if you have a really good relationship with the other mamotex and you're open, you are willing to learn, you're willing to share your knowledge and everything that translates to everything that you do.

So the radiologists take note of that, the breast surgeons take note of that.

And guess what?

When they go to a new facility, because they got a better offer, they're bringing you with you.

Like, that's kind of the way that it works.

It's amazing because if you are tired of working at a specific place or you just want something new, like so many doors will open to you because they already know your personality.

If you want to be in management, if you want to be a manager, the fact that you're willing to Share your knowledge with others, that you can communicate well with others, have a positive relationship with everyone.

Again, those qualities are what's needed if you want to be in management.

In mammography, not the bachelor degree, that's just an extra, but it's the personality and everything that goes into it and how you like present yourself.

So so many doors open.

And I can definitely say that has happened in my case and that's something that I'm super grateful for.

Um, but I also want to make sure that the new generation of mamotex that are coming in, at least the ones that I've met, like, you want to be that person.

Don't, don't hold anything back.

Like that does not benefit you in any way.

And as a department as a whole, your department is not going to thrive unless everyone is on the same page.

So.

And again, I've seen that I went from a breast center facility to an outpatient facility where it was not like that.

Within six months it became like that because so again, the personalities and our everything.

Sometimes you just use that one person to, you know.

Yeah.

So my thing is like, you be that one person.

You be that one person to make everything a lot better.

It'll be better for the patients, better for management.

Everyone will be happier and you will love your job in the process and so many doors will open up for you.

So you just summarized all the reasons, whether you are going straight out of X ray school and graduating to pursue mammography is one of the.

The easier professions to transition over into.

From X ray, not the easiest profession.

Let me make sure you gu understand that.

Correct.

There is no easy in medical imaging.

Everything takes skill and hard work.

So mammography is not like, oh, it's just an easy job, but it is easier to transition from X ray school and being an X ray technologist over to mammography.

And it's also a good place to be able to gain more skills as far as patient care.

You're able to have a more flexible schedule.

You're able to have weekends off at most places, unless you work at that one place in LA we don't talk about.

But they're great.

They're great.

You got to decide what you want.

Do you want to or do you want the weekends off?

So everything's about choices.

Not.

And neither one is bad.

It's not a bad thing.

I work two weekends, but they paid me like $10 extra to work on the weekends.

I took those weekends, I worked those four hours because for me, I can make more money in those four hours with that $10 extra on top of it and wouldn't have to go in there during the weekend.

Deal with the personal that were there during the week.

There you go.

No, as as long as it makes sense and as long as it works for your family, just do it.

So it doesn't work for your family, go somewhere else.

Mammography has options as well and that's what I want people to understand, that whether you're a technologist is burnout.

Don't let mammography just pass you by.

Look into it.

You've heard the opportunities and a positive spin on it.

Someone that enjoys the profession has had opportunities within it.

And what last motivating comments or would you recommend to technologists who are out there saying I'm thinking about MAMO or I'm not thinking about it.

How would you sway them over to looking at a profession that you don't have to cut into your full time job by going back to learn about it?

You can do it in a course online, get your exams at work, or go get a course that offers the exams.

You know some of the pluses I.

Would just say to try and be as open minded as you possibly can.

Give yourself a year if you can, even if it's only six months, that's fine.

But give yourself those six months to a year to really dive into mammography and just really get to know it and understand it.

And I personally think the enjoyment is just going to come out of it.

But to each their own.

But if you do need help with mamo, you know they can always, they can always send me a dm.

I'll answer any of their questions or the cards that I sell that that always helps.

That has helped a lot of MAMO tags.

I think you said a lot and your positivity about the profession says a lot as well.

So you're very genuine talking about your profession.

You made some really good points for high school students to really take steps while you're in high school and parents to work with your kids to help them to see.

And also those of you counselors out there in high school, look over at radiology and let your students know about this profession.

We are the third largest medical profession in the nation and we have over 11 modalities in our profession.

People have options when they go to school for radiologic technology and become registered by the arrt.

We are licensed credentialed medical professionals and we take care of you.

Helping doctors to diagnose and care for our patients so, Zelima, it's been a pleasure, pleasure having you on and I look forward to continuing to engage with your tiktoks.

And you guys be sure to check Zulima out over on TikTok.

What's your TikTok name?

Breast Friend Boutique.

Oh, that's so cute.

How did you come up with that name?

Well, I don't know.

Breast.

I'm your breast friend.

That's what I always tell my colleagues.

I'm like, I'm your breast friend.

Just come to me and I'll help you in any way.

So it kind of just started off as a joke and then developed into that.

And here we are.

You have an essay shop called best friend boutique.etsy.com and you have a tick tock page for a breast friend boutique.

So very smart.

And thank you for your 10 years of being a mammography technologist.

And you all.

Thank you for listening to a couple of rad techs.

You can find all of the links to reach out to Zelima at Best Friend Boutique for her Etsy shop, her TikTok.

Be sure to give her a follow.

Hit her up in a DM so you can learn more about mammography.

If you're a technologist struggling to stay afloat in the radiology world because you want to do something else, but you don't have the time, the energy to go back to school, stay tuned to A couple of Rad Tech's podcasts.

I've got some amazing things coming up all on mammography because guess what month is coming up soon?

October.

That's our best month ever.

That was funny.

It was the last minute.

Anyway, you guys check Zulema out and stay tuned to a couple of Rad techs.

We've got some amazing things coming up for technologists and patients as well.

Talking about breast health, you know how I do it in October?

We're going to be doing it big leading up to October, so stay tuned.

Got some good giveaways and some really good information.

Until the next time, thank you for listening.

Be sure to leave us a review at A Couple of Rad Tech.

See ya.

And that's a wrap for this episode of A Couple of Rad Tech's Podcasts.

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