Labelling patients

• I have studied the culture in one imaging department.
• Radiographers label or categorise their patients.
• These labels/categories are used to manage the patient.
• This is an important aspect of the way in which radiographers work.

This article looks at how diagnostic radiographers label their patients.An ethnographic study of the workplace culture in one diagnostic imaging department was undertaken using participant observation for four months and semi-structured interviews with ten key informants. One of the key themes; the way in which radiographers label their patients, is explored in this article.It was found from the study that within the department studied the diagnostic radiographers labelled or categorised their patients based on the information that they had. This information is used to form judgements and these judgements were used to assist the radiographers in dealing with the many different people that they encountered in their work.This categorisation and labelling of the patient appears to assist the radiographer in their decision-making processes about the examination to be carried out and the patient they are to image. This is an important aspect of the role of the diagnostic radiographer.