Re: Mammography Doses

[jpettigrew@halnet.com (Jeff Pettigrew)]

Sue,

I have encountered the exact same ambiguous answers to my dose queries to
radiation technicians.  Even the intern that was looking after me did not
know the dose of a give X-ray.  However he (the intern) conjectured that, 
"it must not be much, because some patients get dozens of them every day".

He said the only time he worried about those types of details is when exam
time came around.  I really don't blame him, but I would think that if I was
an X-ray tech I would want to know how much I was zapping everyone as a 
matter of professional pride and curiousity.  So while I might excuse the 
doctor, I wouldn't excuse the tech. Perhaps contrary to others concerns.

I would hope that each technician follows exacting procedures given by the
radiologist, as they don't seem to know or understand the dose equivalent of
a given procedure. 

A tongue-in-cheek remark around our profession is "Industrial radiation is Bad
Radiation. Now your Medical radiation, that's your Good Radiation!"

I am sure there are many X-ray techs that know exactly what dose is being 
given a patient. It's just that I have never met those particular techs.

Jeff Pettigrew