I went for an X-ray yesterday and I couldn’t help but feel there was a mismatch in how much each party cared about it.
Radiologist: How did this happen?
Me: I was playing tag rugby when…
Radiologist: What’s your address?
Me: Apartment 15, Fairview…
Radiologist: That’s not the address here!
To me this scan was a big deal. It was going to provide me with some much needed certainty and put me out of the misery and anxiety I had been feeling for the past week.
To the radiologist/radiographer it seemed I was just another box to be ticked, something to cross off the to do list as quickly as possibly.
Radiologist: Put your chin on the platform.
I place my chin on the platform that makes the most sense to me.
Radiologist (audible sigh of impatience) No, facing the ceiling!
He had probably done thousands if not hundreds of thousands of these but this was my very first time.
I had no idea what the procedure was and felt like my lack of experience was annoying him.
When finally all was said and done. He came out to tell me (in one breath).
‘theresnoreasonforyoutogotoa&eyoumaygo’
And he turned to walk away.
I felt scared to stop him and ask because even with a mask on I could tell he was irritated but I had to know more.
To look back on the situation it didn’t seem like a fair exchange of empathy occurred.
I could guess at why he was irritable.
His department is probably understaffed. He’s probably working crazy hours and I was probably his 100th x-ray that day.
But I felt a little empathy in return wouldn’t have gone amiss.
When I wanted to find out more about the result it wasn’t to deliberately delay him or keep him from his lunch break out of spite.
I was looking for reassurance for the injury I had been really worried about.
And when I sat down wrong. I wasnt intentionally trying to annoy him I simply had never done this before.
I think he assumed I had his experience and knew what to do.
If speed was his goal I think empathy would’ve actually achieved it better.
Questions like ‘Have you ever done this before?’ or ‘Do you know the procedure?’ would’ve prevented him having to correct me and given him a better idea of what instructions to give first time round.
It seems like he thought his job was to x-ray not to deal with the things he was x-raying.
Thomas Duggan 