#12DaysofHiddenHeroes: Emily Larkin
In the lead up to Christmas, we're shining a light on #12DaysofHiddenHeroes.
On the first day of the festive season, we meet Emily Larkin, a sonographer at Whipps Cross Hospital.
Tell us about your role
I’m a sonographer and I’ve worked at Whipps Cross since 2006 but in ultrasound since 2012. I work in general ultrasound so do multiple different types of scans and I’m currently studying to do MSK injections.
A standard working day for me involves having many different patients to scan, it would be a mix of different body parts, and quite often I would have a student with me training.
Ultrasound is really good for looking at soft tissues for example, with an abdominal scan you can look at the liver, kidney, bladder; with MSK scans we can also look at the joints so we can look at the tendons and ligaments around the joints to see if they are any tears.
What might surprise people about your role?
That we don’t scan babies in this department, everyone always thinks that ultrasound is scanning babies but the antenatal department is completely separate to us.
Proudest patient moment?
It’s always nice when a patient comes in really anxious but then when they leave the room, they said to you ‘oh that’s not as bad as I thought I was really nervous’ that’s the sort of thing that makes me feel good, that I’ve done a good job reassuring them and that I’ve made them feel relaxed.
Also, when you found the cause of their pain so they can get the correct treatment for the problem, that’s always a big satisfaction for me to know that I’ve been able to help.
How will you be spending the holidays?
At Christmas I’m going to be at home with my husband, kids and my in-laws and we are going to have a rib of beef this year, not turkey which will be a big change for us!