Interview with Millie Mae, How X-Ray Technology Has Changed Throughout the Covid 19 Pandemic, History 150 Honors Spring 2022, Conducted by Karly Thurman, March 19th, 2022

Overview to Social Change Interview:

In March of 2020, the world shut down with the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic. Grocery stores looked liked they had been ransacked, businesses shut down, and masks became the new normal. In the blink of an eye, the world had changed dramatically. Unfortunately, millions of people died because of this pandemic and we continued to see the cases rise dramatically. A common issue heard throughout the pandemic was the struggles that the healthcare field was facing. Healthcare workers were putting their lives in danger on a daily basis. They faced staffing shortages, personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages, layoffs, ventilator shortages, being overworked, and increased stress.

Many healthcare workers left their jobs in the healthcare field because of the working conditions during the pandemic. However, while there were many negatives from this pandemic it also taught us a lot of lessons. We have learned how to practice more self-care, how to adapt to change, finding creative ways to stay connected with loved ones, and how important community is. I was so excited for my interview that I was getting to sit down with an healthcare worker who worked during the pandemic. This time was a change and growing experience for many different professions but especially those in healthcare. In this interview, you can hear about the many changes and struggles that her work faced because of the pandemic and how she continues to find joy in going to work everyday.

Biography: 

Millie Mae works as a X-Ray Technologist in private practice in Richmond, VA. She has been working in this profession for 30 years and at the same practice for the last 24 years. Millie got her degree from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Va. She is also a mother to three daughters.

Millie’s work life has changed dramatically since the pandemic first started in 2020 and this interview gives us some insight on the many changes that she has encountered in her job throughout the past couple years.

Research:

The Covid 19 pandemic has been well-known throughout the world in the past couple of years. I conducted some research in order to learn a little bit more about how this pandemic has affected the health care field.

First, I researched about the financial impact that the pandemic has had. I found that physician practices saw an increase in the number of the patients getting tested for Covid however, there was a decrease in patients coming in for normal checkups. Therefore, revenues were dropping dramatically compared to before the pandemic. I found that in my interview, Millie had similar circumstances. Her practice also saw an increase in the amount of Covid patients but a decrease in the amount of follow ups and normal appointments because patients were scared to come into the practice.

Secondly, PPE was one of the main discussions during the surge of the pandemic. There was a massive shortage of PPE materials making it hard for hospitals, doctors offices, and the public to have enough PPE to be able to remain safe. When healthcare workers are not equipped with the proper protection that they need they are more likely to get sick and then they will not be there to help their patients who come in sick. There were many reasons for the shortage of PPE such as hospital budgets and the disruption of the global supply chain. Through my interview, I was also able to learn more about the types of PPE that Millie had to wear everyday at work and if she faced any struggles of not having enough PPE at her office.

Lastly, I looked into the healthcare shortages that have been occurring throughout the pandemic. Doctors, nurses, and healthcare staff have all been working through the staffing shortages throughout this pandemic, trying to make sure that all of their patients are still being taken care of. According to my research, the CDC says some ways they are trying to fix this problem is by adjusting staffing schedules, hiring additional staff, and rotating some of the positions to make the most out of the workers that they have.

Citations:

“Covid-19 Financial Impact on Physician Practices.” American Medical Association, https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/sustainability/covid-19-financial-impact-physician-practices. 

Cohen, Jennifer, and Yana van der Meulen Rodgers. “Contributing Factors to Personal Protective Equipment Shortages during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Preventive Medicine, Elsevier Inc., Dec. 2020, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7531934/.

“STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE HEALTHCARE Personnel Staffing Shortages.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/mitigating-staff-shortages.html.

Transcription:

Karly Thurman  0:03  

So what do you do for your work? And how long have you been doing this?

Millie Mae 0:07  

I am an X-Ray Technologist in private practice. I have been in this professional role for 30 years, and in this particular practice for 24.

Karly Thurman  0:20  

So how did you get into this field?

Millie Mae  0:25  

Well, I had some friends from high school that piqued my interest and with that, I decided to shadow them in the hospital. It was very interesting and so I applied for the program, and got into the health sciences program at VCU.

Karly Thurman  0:50  

So what certain training and certifications did you need for your job?

Millie Mae  0:58  

At that time, the VCU Health Sciences program was a two year associate program. They also had a four year degree program and that was specific to education, CT or MRI, or other modalities within the X ray technician field, the health sciences field. I went through the program, then I took a cumulative

Karly Thurman  1:31  

you just did the two year program?

Millie Mae 1:33  

 I did the two year program. Yes. And then I took the exam, my cumulative exam at the end of the two year program and I was able to apply for a license in Virginia to be able to work. So today I keep up with my license through continued education in a variety of ways. There’s study programs, there’s also conferences and things that the techs are able to go to, which is very nice. And then there’s 24 credits required every two years. So again, there’s a variety of ways to get those done.

Karly Thurman  2:28  

I gotcha. So, describe some of the changes that your work has seen because of the pandemic over the past couple of years?

Millie Mae 2:37  

Well, the hours of operation changed due to the roller coaster workflow.

Karly Thurman  2:44  

So could you describe that a little more like what they were before and what they are now?

Millie Mae 2:50  

Our hours of operation in the clinic at the time before COVID, I should say, was 11 to 7:30 and because of the lack of patients, we changed our hours to 9 to 5 to accommodate those patients that needed to be seen during the day that were sick with COVID.

Karly Thurman  3:21  

I gotcha. So um, any other changes?

Millie Mae  3:27  

Yes. So in our particular building, we implemented two nurses at the front door to screen patients, they would screen those patients, if they were not sick and needed to see a doctor for follow up medications, various things that they did not have COVID symptoms, they were able to come inside. Otherwise, we put them on a schedule and they were seen outside, we added a trailer for the providers to see COVID patients outside the building. So patients would go back to their car and then the providers and the nurses would call the patients around the building and the doctors and nurses would go out to the patient’s car to see them. So sometimes that was a challenge depending on the weather.*

*At Millie’s office there is a clinic that sees patients additionally to those patients seen for appointments at the practice. When she is describing how they saw patients outside, these were patients coming into the clinic who had Covid 19 symptoms. All of her x-ray patients were still seen inside the building.

Karly Thurman  4:27  

I’m sure. So were those all the changes for the most part? 

Millie Mae 4:35  

For the most part, those were the biggest changes I think that we saw. 

Karly Thurman  4:39  

So what were your initial thoughts when the pandemic first started?

Millie Mae 4:45  

Well, we had no idea that this pandemic would affect patients and society in such a negative way.

Karly Thurman  4:58  

Okay. For sure. So what was the most challenging transition in your work because of the pandemic?

Millie Mae 5:08  

I think the number one challenge was the lack of patients. When the pandemic came about, we had a full schedule every day and when things started changing here in the US, the patient load just decreased dramatically.

Karly Thurman  5:33  

Would you just say that was patients fear of coming into the offices? 

Millie Mae 5:38  

Yes they were. They were scared.

Karly Thurman  5:47  

Just about catching COVID from the other [patients]?

Millie Mae 5:49  

 That’s right. That’s right. So that’s why we implemented seeing patients outside. Yeah. 

Karly Thurman  5:56  

Do you remember about how many patients you were getting a day before compared to during? Or did it just vary too much? 

Millie Mae 6:05  

Well, let’s see, before the COVID, we would see probably 80 to 100 patients a day. That dropped off dramatically, we would see probably maybe 10 to 20. And then during the height of COVID, we were seeing close to 200 patients a day outside. 

Karly Thurman  6:27  

Yeah, so you were seeing a lot more patients outside with COVID, but not as many were coming inside, right for X rays and normal follow up appointments. 

Millie Mae 6:39  

Right. We also, some of the providers also implemented the telehealth. So they would see patients through the zoom, or you know, on the phone telehealth. It was challenging definitely, but we worked around trying to see as many patients as we could.

Karly Thurman  7:07  

So um, did your office ever struggle with not having enough PPE?*

*PPE is Personal Protective Equipment. This includes things like masks, gloves and face shields that are used to minimize the exposure to hazards in the workplace. This was important during the Covid 19 pandemic because Covid travels through the air and the use of PPE creates a decreased chance for transmittance.

Millie Mae 7:16  

Our practice followed CDC protocol and in addition to that we implemented strict policies. I took inventory daily of PPE and supplies. Our company searched on a daily basis for the most cost effective supplies that we could get. But we did, we did have enough, we did. 

Karly Thurman  7:42  

That’s good. Did y’all have to have on certain, did y’all have to wear certain masks like the N95 ones or? 

Millie Mae 7:53  

Yes. So we wore full gear we would wear our N95 masks, face shields, protective lab coat and gloves. That was our policy of PPE every day.

Karly Thurman  8:18  

So did your office have any layoffs due to the pandemic?

Millie Mae 8:23  

We did not have layoffs. However, because we are considered a small business, we were able to apply for a small business loan to help offset that cost because of the patient load, the decrease of the patient load it was a huge benefit for us to be able to provide care for our patients and not have to lay anybody off. So that was positive. 

Karly Thurman  8:53  

Yeah, good. So how did you find hope to go back to work every day even though the times were tough?

Millie Mae 9:03  

Well, health care providers and workers put their patients first and it was difficult. Not all patients agree to our policies and procedures, but the bottom line is we’re here to provide care for patients and our stability.

Karly Thurman  9:23  

Okay, so as someone going into the health care field, I’m a nursing major, what advice would you gave me or other students going into the healthcare field?

Millie Mae 9:36  

I would say never choose a profession based on salary, but focus on what makes you happy. Choose a profession that you enjoy, something that when you get up every day you enjoy going to your job and it makes things a lot easier. 

Karly Thurman  9:53  

What would you say that you enjoy most about your job? 

Millie Mae 9:58  

Well, I work in private practice so I get to know my patients. I see my patients at church, in the grocery store, throughout the community and it’s nice to have that interaction and friendship. They’ll ask when they come into the office, how’s your family? It’s nice. It’s nice to get to know patients. 

Karly Thurman  10:22  

Mm hmm. That does sound good. Well, I think that’s about all that we have for today. Thank you so much for sitting down with me and letting me interview you and I hope things will start to get better in your job through this pandemic. 

Millie Mae 10:40  

Thanks for having me.

 

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Interview Process:

The interview was conducted in person and recorded over Zoom and transcribed using Otter-Ai. After the interview was transcribed, I edited the transcription and fixed some grammatical errors to allow for easier reading. Any background noise in the audio is dogs barking.

Conclusion:

I think that the interview went very well. I thought that the interview flowed pretty well, however I think I could’ve veered off of my script in order to get more information and a longer interview. In general, I am happy I got to interview Millie on this topic and found it very interesting to be able to hear about her work, especially as someone who wants to go into the medical field in the future.