Introduction to To Diagnostic Radiography Clinical Placements


​Radiology is at the heart of modern medicine. Thus the role of the Diagnostic Radiographer is ever changing with the times. At East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, we not only take x-rays of our patients but we also have advanced practitioners who have been trained to interpret and report their findings on images.

The Radiology Department at East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, is split across 2 main hospital sites these are Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital (RBTH) and Burnley General Teaching Hospital (BGTH). We also have radiology services at a number of peripheral locations, these are Clitheroe Community Hospital (CCH), Accrington Victoria Hospital (AVH), Pendle Community Hospital (PCH), Barbara Castle Way and Rossendale Primary Care Centre. Across all of our sites we carry out approximately 380,000 radiological studies per year.

The 3 Year BSc (Hons) degree course for Radiography, will not only be academic (learning the theory of the job), at either Cumbria or Salford University, but will also be spent within our hospitals on Clinical Placement. This will be alongside a variety of skilled professionals, who will guide and advise you as part of your practical training of how to become a Diagnostic Radiographer and to prepare for your future career.

At East Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, our aim is for you to have an interesting and rewarding training experience within our Diagnostic Radiography placement areas.

You will use a range of imaging technology, equipment and techniques to acquire images to aid the diagnosis of patients.
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These may be:-
  • Projectional Radiography  - Projectional radiography is a form of radiography and medical imaging that produces two-dimensional images by x-ray.
  • Fluoroscopy – An x-ray procedure that makes it possible to see internal organs in motion. Fluoroscopy uses x-ray to produce real-time video images.
  • Computerised Tomography (CT) – Can reveal some soft-tissue and other structures that cannot be seen in conventional X-rays. Using the same dosage of radiation as that of an ordinary X-ray machine, an entire slice of the body can be made visible with about 100 times more clarity with the CT scan.
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) – A procedure that uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer to create pictures of areas inside the body. Builds a 2D or 3D map of the different tissue types in the body.
  • Ultrasound – Uses high-frequency sound waves. Ultra-sound waves can be bounced off tissues by using special devices called a probe. The echoes are then converted into a picture called a sonogram. Ultrasound imaging allows an inside view of soft tissues and body cavities without the use of invasive techniques.
  • Angiography / Cardiac Catheter Laboratories – A procedure performed to view blood vessels after injecting them with a radiopaque dye that outlines them on x-ray. This technique can be usefully used to look at arteries in many areas of the body, including the brain, neck, heart, aorta, chest, pulmonary circuit, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and limbs.
  • Nuclear Medicine – Imaging using a gamma camera with radioactive isotopes to assess bodily functions and to diagnose and treat disease.
  • Mammography – This is the process of using x-rays to examine to the human breast for diagnosis and screening.

Radiography Student Do’s and Don’ts 

Student Rota Example